Entertainment Communication

Video Games and Entertainment Model

1. Introduction History ----- happens in the game industry ----- production & creativity 2. Design, experience, & effects ----- affective players 3. Gamers & Motivations ----- disposition of players leads to selection 4. Monetisation ----- determined by disposition and game ----- distribution & marketing Game Designers make innovative games ----- production & creativity goes into game design

Drama

A type of fiction with a serious undertone where the focus lies with realistic characters trying to work through emotional problems ----- e.g. Schindler's List, Dallas Buyer's Club, Brokeback Mountain Power of Negativity ----- negative experiences have been shown to be powerful in securing attention, intense emotional involvement, and high memorability ----- (Menninghaus et al. 2017) ----- events that are negatively valanced (e.g. losing money, losing friends, receiving criticism) will have more impact on the individual than positively valences ones (winning money, gaining friends, receiving praise) ----- Baumeister 2001 ----- a loss is more significant than the euqivalent gain (Tversky & Kahneman, 1981) ----- from an evolutionary perspective: survival requires urgent attention to possible bad outcomes, but it is less urgent with regard to good ones Who loves drama? ----- Mary Beth Oliver (1993) has shown that sadness from watching a tearjerker can attribute to enjoyment, but only among the following people: ----- people who frequently watch tragedy/drama ----- people with more feminine characteristics ----- people with higher empathy ----- individuals in sad affective states often appear to have a preference for somber or mournful movies (Strizhakova & Krcmar, 2007) Selecting Drama ----- eudaemonia: greater insight, self reflection, or contemplations of poignancy or meaningfulness (e.g., what makes life valuable) (Oliver, 2008) ----- striving for a meaningful life and a healthy soul ----- viewers of sad movies may seek information that can help the mournful viewer "work through" his or her negative state (Zillman, 2000) Drama Series and Affective Disposition Theory ----- viewers who lost their favorite character on a television soap displayed negative reactions similar to those experienced after the real dissolution of social relationships (Cohen, 2004) ----- time spent watching TV is generally subtracted from communicating with fam and friends ----- we make relations with the characters ----- we were all very sad when O'malley, Mark Sloan Mcsteamy, and Lexi Grey die in the show Grey's Anatomy

Other Motivations for Video Games

Motivation theories for video game play ----- why are freemium games so popular? Social Comparison Theory (Festinger, 1954) ----- The Frog-pond effect (Davis, 1996) describes how individuals evaluate themselves based on comparisons to other people around them. ----- Individuals evaluate themselves as worse when in a group of many higher performing individuals. ----- Freemium games find ways to cut the data to place players near the top of a group - for boosting the self-esteem and increasing the incentive of players. Post-Purchase Reinforcement ----- Information provided post-purchase by a manufacturer that presents favorable aspects of the product and reassures the buyer that a wise purchase decision has been made. ----- Activision has a patent on post-purchase reinforcement through multiplayer matchmaking ----- For example, if the player purchased (or won) a particular weapon, the microtransaction algorithm can assign the player to a match with an opponent in which that particular weapon is highly effective, giving the player the impression that this particular weapon was a good purchase. Self-presentation: customisation ----- Some virtual goods are solely used for customization goals as they give the player's character no in-game advantages. ----- These so-called skins are solely decorative as they contain no functionality that affects game performance whatsoever (Novak et al., 2013). ----- Customization; personalizing characters or gameplay is an important category within micro-transactions of virtual goods (Luton, 2013). Unobstructed Play ----- Unobstructed play: Allowing players to smoothly continue playing without obstructions or distractions (Hamari et al., 2017). ----- Many games set artificial timers as to make the player wait. For example, it may take hours to construct a building into the player's village, or timers may prevent players from continuing the game sessions. ----- Players can pay to complete this process immediately. ----- Freemium players can often skip these 'downtimes' with microtransactions (Paavilainen et al., 2015). Preventing Satiation ----- When we experience nice new things (great song, good food, exciting tv show) we want to binge on it. ----- Satiation (also referred to as Hedonic adaptation) refers to the fact that we get used to nice things over time until they are no longer anywhere near as pleasurable (Nelson & Meyvis, 2009). ----- While most players are used to the option of binging on a game until they burn out and move on, most Freemium games force players to avoid that behavior (using timers) (Hamari et al., 2016). ----- This forced abstinence either enhances the long-term appeal of the game or entices players to microtransactions to skip the 'downtime' Psychology behind the transaction: ----- classic conditioning (Pavlov, 1927) ----- conditioning in two dots ----- play, lets go!, continue, start level, buy moves! ----- Operant Conditioning (Skinner, 1930) ----- dopamine is not about pleasure, but about anticipation of pleasure ----- it is about the pursuit of happiness rather than happiness itself (Sapolsky) ----- Dopamine, Behaviour, Reward, and again

Social Television Bandwagon

Social Television Bandwagon ----- Social TV describes the use of social technologies while viewing in order to connect to and communicate with other viewers of the same program in real time (Raney & Qihao, 2017). Usually, various forms of audience feedback are overlaid on top of popular television programming (e.g., Cameron & Geidner, 2014) ----- Audience feedback cues such as views, ratings, comments and likes are called evaluative metrics (Waddell & Sundar, 2010). Social media have provided a range of evaluative metrics that facilitate quick decision making (Metzger et al., 2010). ----- Two types of bandwagon effects can occur: ----- 1) Affect based on the size of the audience ----- 2) Affect based on the opinion of the audience (Cameron & Geidner, 2014; Waddell & Sundar, 2017) Live Streaming Games ----- eSports matches attract millions of viewers who either go to the events or watch the tournaments on live streaming services (Hamari & Sjőblom, 2017). ----- Events that are relevant to the collective (e.g., football matches) will provide higher enjoyment when they are watched collectively than when they are watched individually (Sapolsky & Zillmann, 1978) ----- Twitch is currently the most popular social video streaming platform in Europe and the US, catering to hundreds of millions of viewers (Needleman, 2015, Twitch, 2018). ----- Live-streaming services such as Twitch have become an integrated part of everyday life for digital natives (Templeman, 2017). Twitch Communities ----- Twitch streamers may directly interact with individual viewers (e.g., when answering individual questions or giving thanks for a specific user's donation), thus making these social experiences (Wulf, Schneider, & Beckert, 2020). ----- Twitch offers a place where people who share a common interest can communicate with both peers and experts about game strategies, providing enjoyment through a deeper understanding of the game (Wulf, Schneider, & Beckert, 2020). ----- Twitch can function as a safe haven where gamers can be among themselves, maintain their community, and stay away from opinions that may offend them (Kneer et al., 2012; Nauroth et al., 2015). ----- By offering streamers direct revenue from their activities, Twitch is acquiring valuable content to offer their consumers, but also incentivizing the content creators to continue their activities (Sjöblom et al., 2019). Danmaku Viewing ----- Danmaku viewing overlays user comments directly on the video and creates a co- viewing experience. ----- Danmaku commenting provides a "pseudo-synchronic" co-viewing experience (Johnson, 2013). ----- Danmaku video viewers can read comments sent by all the viewers at specific moments in the video. ----- Danmaku enjoyment comes mostly from viewer comments. ----- Sometimes, people watch a poor-quality video just for the fun of ridiculing the content together with others through Danmaku commenting (Yuan, Xing, & Jiang, 2016). ----- Danmaku viewing is motivated through the sense of companionship that comes from the perception of social presence in a mediated environment (Hwang & Lim, 2015). ----- The strongest negative predictor to both the attitude toward and the viewing frequency of Danmaku videos was visual clutter (Chen, Gao, & Rau, 2017).

Spotify Intermediation

Spotify now has 130 million paid subscribers and 280 million monthly active users. More than their competitors Pandora and Apple Music. ----- Major labels get the best deals from Spotify (Lindvall, 2011). Sony's contract with Spotify for 2011 and 2012 required the streaming service to pay Sony between $0.00225 and $0.0025 per stream by the service's "free" subscribers (Singleton 2015). ----- The streaming giant must either pay a fixed per-stream fee for its streams by consumers who have signed up for the advertising-based model, or a pre-defined share of its advertising revenues (Singleton 2015). ----- It is easy to see why music labels, such as Sony, insisted on adding the fixed fee element: the amount of advertising Spotify will generate is difficult to predict and monitoring it is tricky. Spotify as a Freemium ----- Free song versions (which include advertising) have the potential to attract consumers who would otherwise refrain from paying for music at all. But ad- sponsored music appears to appeal only to a clear-cut segment that is very price-sensitive and would drop out of the market completely if the only option was to pay (Papies et al., 2011) ----- 75% of Spotify customers signed up for "free" (i.e., advertising-based) streaming in 2014, only 9% of Spotify's revenues were generated through this advertisement model (Mediabiz, 2015). ----- Spotify can provide their paying users better playlists and recommendations based on the information they get from their "free" users. Recommendations ----- Personalised recommendations are important strategic resources (Jannach et al. 2016). ----- There is empirical evidence of the power of a recommendation function. A sample of music managers was asked to predict the future chart performances of 40 singles two weeks before their releases (in 2007). ----- At the same time they applied a theory-inspired linear regression model to predict each single's performance. ----- The algorithm was as good as or better than the managers in predicting the songs' success when artists had an established track record, but less accurate for new artists (Seifert & Hadida, 2013) Two Algorithms ----- Two main approaches for generating personalised recommendations: ----- user-to-user filtering and item-to-item filtering User-to-user filtering finds other users whose ratings of products (or choices for songs) are similar to a target user and then predict to what degree this user will like a product he or she has not yet experienced, based on the choices of those "taste neighbors" (e.g., Ekstrand et al. 2010). Item-to-item filtering uses similarities between rating patterns of products (or in this case songs), rather than between individual users. Although this connection is also based on similarities with other users, the algorithm focuses on the 'item neighbors', not the taste of similar individuals. Algorithms Cold Start ----- All recommendation systems face the "cold-start" problem: how to deal with new products (for which no consumer ratings yet exist) and new users of the system (who have not rated any products themselves). ----- A major advantage of item-to-item over user-to-user filtering is that it requires much less calculation time and effort. Recommendations can cascade from the first selection onwards. User-to-user recommenders require more deliberate selection from the users to develop a sense group sorting. ----- User-to-user filtering has potential for serendipity in that any surprise discovery made by neighboring groups has a chance to spread to other users via the algorithm.

Entertainment industry Resources

The resource-based view is a managerial framework used to determine which strategic resources a firm can exploit to achieve long-lasting competitive advantage. ----- Important strategic resources (assets and capabilities) are rare, vluable, inimitable, and/or sustainable (Barney, 1991). There are four types of strategic resources in the entertainment industry. Together these form the value chain of ent: (a) Financial and production resources (b) Access to - or control over creatives (c) Marketing resources (d) Distribution resources

The Hero's Journey Pt. 2

the mythic quest in pursuit of some destination or goal whose attainment will lend greater meaning to life ----- 12 stages of the Hero's journey ----- using examples from popular movies 1. Ordinary World ----- The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. The ordinary world is boring or mundane and provides a contrast with the special world that the hero will enter later. Ordinary worlds can be fantastic - just not for the hero. 2. Call to Adventure ----- The call to adventure is the point in a person's life when they are first given notice that everything is going to change, whether they know it or not. There is an initiating incident that gets the story going. The hero is presented with a problem, a challenge. Something that will lure the hero out of the ordinary world. 3. Refusal of the Call ----- For a moment, the hero is reluctant to answer the call to adventure. It should be clear that the adventure is dangerous. The hero has to leave the safety behind. Others may warn the hero of the dangers ahead - warning the hero (and the audience) that the adventure should not be taken lightly. 4. The Mentor ----- Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who offers guidance, protection, training and advice. Mentors can be persons, but also handbooks, traditions or treasure maps. 5. Crossing the First Threshold ----- This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known. It is often a physical barrier. Moving to a new location, through a door, on a plane or other markation that the adventure has started for real now. 6. Tests, Allies, and Enemies ----- The hero is tested. These tests train the hero for the greater challenges ahead. These are obstacles or hurdles,, not the CRISIS that will follow. Friends are also a form of test. Accepting the help of others who may have unique abilities that help the hero later. The enemy (antagonist) reveals him/herself (can also be an idea, organisation, or disease) 7. The Approach to the Inmost Cave ----- The hero comes at last most dangerous place in the special world, where the object of the quest is hidden. This may signal a heightening of the stakes. In romantic comedies, it may force the lovers to question commitment; or one partner may express the need for marriage. The final preparations for the great ordeal that will soon follow. 8. The Ordeal (crisis) ----- The protagonist faces the greatest challenge yet. He faces death - or the looming end of the quest. This is the crux of the story. Everything has been building towards this moment. It shows the essence of the hero and his heroic power. The wannabe hero must face death. Their greatest fear - the end of a relationship - the death of a friend - This is often the emotional lowpoint of the movie. 9. Reward - seizing the sword ----- Facing death has life-changing consequences. The reward is often knowledge, insight, a new vantagepoint and a new vigor to face the challenges and go back on the quest. Out of Crisis comes new hope, and heroes must turn back to the quest. Road back to the object of the quest. About three-fourths of the way through the story, Heroes gather up what they have learned or gained, in the Special World. The hero is driven one last time to complete the adventure. 10. The Road back ----- Road back to the object of the quest. About three-fourths of the way through the story, Heroes gather up what they have learned or gained, in the Special World. The hero is driven one last time to complete the adventure. 11. Resurrection (Apotheosis) ----- The hero experiences a final moment of touching death and rebirth. Apotheosis means touching the divine. This is the climax, the last and most dangerous meeting with death, where the stakes are highest. The final test to see if they have learned from the Ordeal (crisis) in act 2 and are ready to become a true hero. 12. Return with the Elixir ----- Traditionally, there is a feast or a wedding. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that was acquired and has transformed our hero.

Nintendo

A Japanese video game company famous for series such as Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda. ----- Donkey Kong released in 1981 ----- Super Mario Bros in 1985 ----- The Legend of Zelda in 1987 1. Introduction & History ----- this was considered in production, made the success of Nintendo games imminent Kishotenketsu ----- Ki (起): topic introduction ----- Shō (承): follows from the introduction ----- Ten (転): twist or new topic ----- Ketsu (結): brings story to its conclusion ----- used a lot in Mario 3D World (2013) as well as in Mario Odyssey (2017) For example ----- Ki: Daughters of Itoya, in the Honmachi of Osaka. ----- Shō: The elder daughter is sixteen and the younger one is fourteen. ----- Ten: Throughout history, generals killed the enemy with bows and arrows. ----- Ketsu: The daughters of Itoya kill with their eyes.

Music in Movies

Application of Music in movies ----- Design ---> Experience ---> Affect Musical Cues affect Viewers ----- Scenes with sad, neutral and happy faces were rated as happier when accompanied by happy music. ----- And they were rated as less happy when these scenes were accompanied by sad music (Baranowski & Hecht, 2016). ----- Empathy-related judgments of film characters were modulated by music (Bouhuys, Bloem, & Groothuis, 1995). ----- Music can be used as an affective primer to influence a viewer's evaluations about a character's emotions and expected intentions (Tan, Spackman, & Bezdek, 2007) . Tragedy Paradox of Sad Music ----- Tragedy paradox: the seemingly contradictory idea that humans work to minimize sadness in their lives, yet find it pleasurable in an musical context. ----- Levinson (1990) argues that sad music evokes sadness, but that this can become enjoyable by triggering a number of psychological processes that are pleasurable to begin with (e.g., catharsis, savoring, understanding, resolution, communion). ----- The 'emotivists' claim that music induces real emotions in the listener ----- whereas the 'cognitivists' argue that music does not evoke real emotions, but that emotion arises from reminders of the feelings evoked by the music (Kivy, 1991). Sad Music Characteristics ----- The lyrics of songs can trigger memories that the listener associates with sadness (Van den Toland & Edwards, 2013), such as themes of regret and lost love (Mori & Iwanaga, 2013). ----- According to a study by Juslin and Laukka (2004) the musical features generally associated with ''sadness'' include: ----- lower pitch and narrow pitch range ----- slower tempo and less energetic execution ----- use of the minor mode ----- darker timbres ----- consider sad music in UP for example

Blockbuster Strategy

Blockbuster Strategy: Making huge investments to acquire, develop, and market a small number of concepts with strong hit potential, and then use the revenue from these products to make up for the middling performance of their other content (Elberse, 2013). ----- Publicity and marketing costs are not proportionate to the production budget. (e.g., marketing and publicity for a movie that costs 150 million is not thrice as expensive as publicity for a movie that costs 50 million). ----- Blockbusters are expensive to produce, but very cheap to reproduce. ----- These products are disproportionately profitable because the costs of duplicating and distributing entertainment are relatively low. Release Strategy ----- Promotion and advertising start very early (up to six months before release) ----- Enormous investments in advertising and marketing before release only ----- Revenue is highest immediately after release, then decreases (front-loaded diffusion) Diffusion ----- Because of their pre-release marketing focus and ubiquitous availability at release, blockbuster products exhibit a strong front-loaded diffusion pattern. ----- Revenues tend to be highest right at release, followed by an exponential decay in the days, and weeks that follow. ----- This diffusion acceleration is an essential element of the blockbuster concept because it reduces the negative impact that an entertainment product's lack of quality can have on its selection by consumers. ----- Blockbuster products can thus generate enormous revenues in a very short period of time. ----- It took the movie Avatar just 15 days to generate $1 billion in revenues across the globe.

Media Effects Model

Differential Susceptibility to Media Effects Model (DSMM) ----- Valkenburg & Peter, 2013 ----- three factors predict media use: disposition, developmental level, and social environment ----- these also influence the effects that media have on knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, or behaviours ----- media effects are transactional, meaning that effects of media use also influence media use Conditionality of Responses ----- according the the DSMM model, media effects on users can be enhanced or reduced by individual differences and diversity in social context ----- user characteristics can moderate the effect of entertainment media

Advertising

Distribution & Marketing: Advertising ----- The vast majority of money in televised entertainment is made in the distribution stage, when shows are preceded, interrupted, or followed by advertisements when they air on TV stations. ----- Similarly, television shows can benefit from advertisements for themselves. ----- Lovett and Staelin (2016) studied the success of the first six episodes of the TV adventure drama series Human Target when it was aired in the U.S. in 2010 by Fox. ----- Consumers who remembered having seen an ad for the show, showed an increased probability of watching the show by 5%.

Horror Enjoyment Theories

Dolf Zillman's Horror Enjoyment Theories Excitation Transfer ----- residual psychosocial arousal can be misattributed to a subsequent stimulus ----- the psychosocial arousal accumulated during exposure (to horror) is linked to positive cognitions after the happy end, resulting in euphoria ----- more negative affects leads to more reported enjoyment afterwards (Zillman, 1996) Snuggle Theory ----- Zillman (1986) found that male students enjoyed horror movie almost twice as much as a female partner showed distress ----- fem undergrads enjoyed the film more if their male companion appeared calm and unmoved ----- thus, gender stereotypical behaviour of a partner while watching horror not only increases appeal of the partner, but of the movie too ----- both explain why users are willing to suffer from suspense in order to enjoy the relief afterwards

Motivations for Social Media Use

Motivations for Social Media Use Emotional Contagion ----- Emotional contagion: People converge emotionally with another person through the automatic mimicry of and synchronization with their affective behaviors (Hatfield, Cacioppo, & Rapson, 1992). ----- The emotions expressed by other people, particularly those whom we favor, generally trigger similar emotional responses in ourselves. This has been shown to occur on Twitter (Ferrara & Yang, 2015) and Facebook (Kramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014). Fear of Missing Out ----- Fear of missing out (FOMO), is the anxious feeling that others may be having positive experiences from which they are absent. ----- It is characterized by the desire to be constantly connected to what others are doing. ----- Increased dependence on being online can lead to anxiety when someone does not feel connected to the internet, making them afraid of missing something (Przybylski et al., 2013). ----- As a result, FOMO has a negative impact on people's psychological well- being because it can contribute to a negative mood and depressive feelings (Song et al., 2004). Media Multitasking ----- While media multitasking, individuals are exposed to two or more forms of mediated communication simultaneously. ----- Limited-capacity model: Describes how people's limited capacity for information processing affects their memory of, and engagement with, mediated messages (Lang, 2000). ----- There is longitudinal evidence of an effect of media multitasking on attention problems (van der Schuur, Baumgartner, & Lemmens, 2017). ----- Media multitasking disrupts adolescents' ability to sustain and focus attention through habituation to high arousal levels (Nikkelen et al., 2014), and changes in cognitive processing style (Junco & Cotten, 2011). Second Screening ----- Second Screening: using computers, tablets, or smartphones to share reactions, attitudes and opinions about programs with other viewers (Lochrie & Coulton, 2012). ----- For broadcasters, the inclusion of social media during programing appears to be an attempt to leverage social facilitation mechanisms to promote more positive program evaluations (O'Neill, 2011). ----- In reality, backlash against programing on social media is more common, with online discussions often digressing into hostility (Tedford, 2015). ----- Negative comments accessed via a second screen can lower program evaluations relative to the same programing without comments (McKinney, Houston, & Hawthorne, 2014). ----- Positive comments failed to affect audience program perceptions (Cameron & Geidner, 2014) ----- whereas negative comments caused less positive program evaluations (Waddell & Bailey, 2019). Hate leads to viewing ----- in Drama, for every 1% increase in hate, there is a 0.7% increase in viewership

Selection of Media

What brings us from our disposition to our product? SELECTION ----- reasons for selection: ----- escapism ----- tendency to seek distraction and relief from unpleasant realities, especially by seeking entertainment or engaging in fantasy (Katz & Foulkes, 1962) ----- attempts to explicate how media, particularly narratives presented through media may provide some sort of transient mental retreat for users who feel uncomfortable in their lives and social worlds ----- this motivation can relate to one's immediate environment, work and life stituation, or the sense of emptiness perceived when there is nothing to do (Henning & Vorderer, 2001) ----- for example escapism into fantasy through movies such as Star Wars, Despicable Me, Jumanji, Avengers, Spider-Man, Thor, Incredibles 2, Deadpool, etc Mood Management Theory ----- the use of entertainment serves the regulation of positive mood states (Zillman, 1984) ----- based on the hedonistic premise that one is motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain, one selects entertainment to maximise or maintain a good mood, and/or diminish a bad mood ----- Pleasure and amusement are the highest good and proper aim of human life ----- leads to light-hearted entertainment consumption ----- empirical evidence for mood management exists for music (Schafer & Sedlmeier, 2009) and TV viewing patterns (Lee & Lee, 1995), and for movie preferences (Hirschman, 1987) Other selection factors ----- familiarity ----- some sense of connection is perceived with a product or its elements and characters ----- based on previous encounters (Bohnenkamp et al. 2015; Green et al. 2004) ----- Nostalgia involves preferences for things or experiences that were more common when one was younger. ----- the nostalgic targets are no longer as available, accessible, or satisfying as they once were (Kalinina, 2016). ----- Remakes, reboots, revivals ----- indicators of nostalgia. ----- Re-creating the past as we like to remember it, rather than as it actually was (Bartlett, 2017).

Video Games

What are video games: ----- All play takes place within the magic circle ----- a temporary world within the ordinary one, dedicated to the performance of an act, where special rules apply (Huizinga, 1955) ----- Games can be viewed as an extended family, some members show strong resemblances and others only passing resemblance (Wittgenstein, 1958). ----- Gaming is a structured form of play with quantifiable win and loss conditions. ----- Electronic-, Digital-, Computer-, or Video-Games ----- A video game is a digital game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Firms ----- Nintendo, 10b ----- EA, 5b ----- Apple, 10b ----- worldwide Video Game Revenue in 2018: 137b ----- Best selling games are action and shooter games ----- Call of Duty, Red Dead Redemption II

Sunk Costs Fallacy

illogically allowing the weight of investments that cannot be reclaimed to play a role in decisions. ----- long term commitment Sunk Costs Fallacy: ----- Escalating commitment by citing prior investments as justification for future ones, even though those costs are gone, immutable, and completely out of the picture (Arkes & Blumer, 1985) ----- The more you invested in a game (time or money) the less likely you are to quit

Early Horror

1950s Horror ----- B-movies ----- double features (drive-in specials) ----- space travel, atomic tests, cold war paranoia ----- creature features ----- e.g. Destination Moon (1950), or Invaders from Mars (1953), or the Thing (1951) Vampires ----- Bram Stoker - Dracula (1827) ----- First film: Nosferatu (1921) ----- 239 fins with "Dracula" as the lead ----- Vampires are most popular monsters as they are handsome, intelligent, and forever young (Fischoff, 2005) Popular Horror ----- most popular monsters: slashers, ghosts, and zombies Horror: The Final Girl (Clover, 1992) ----- the last girl alive to confront the killer and tell the tale ----- not sexually active ----- does not use alcohol or drugs ----- smart, curious, resourceful, and attentive ----- often has a unisex first name Final Girls becomes masculinised through "phallic appropriation" by picking up the killer's weapon ----- male viewers begin by sharing the perspective of the killer ----- experience a shift in identification to the final girl during the last part of the movie Sex in Slashers ----- Walsh & Brantford (2009) analysed 50 slasher films (1960-2007) ----- male characters were more likely to be victims of rapid, serious violence, whereas females were more likely to be victims of less serious, but more drawn-out violence, including confinement and stalking Welsh (2010) examined gender differences in the association between character survival and engagement in sexual activities in 50 horror films ----- characters who engaged in sexual behaviours were less likely to survive and had significantly longer death scenes compared to characters who did not engage in sexual behaviours.

PG-13

1984: PG-13 ----- Parents strongly cautioned ----- some material may be inappropriate for children under 13 Middle ground between PG and R. ----- The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) says on its website: 'violence in a PG-13 movie does not reach the restricted R category". ----- 12-17 years olds are overrepresented among frequent moviegoers relative to their population size (MPAA annual report, 2018) ----- from G (all ages) to R (Restricted) PG-13 Success ----- The average R-rated film would gross over 10% more during its opening weekend had there been no age restriction (Breznican, 2001) ----- compared to PG-13 rated film with similar content, the R-rated version would make between 25 and 35% less at the box office (Israelsen-Hartley, 2010) ----- Ravid (1999) found positive effects on revenues and ROI for G, PG, and PG-13 films, but not R-rated ----- De Any and Walls find that R films are outperformed by other ratings in terms of revenues

Product, Design, AFFECT, and Disposition

Affect as a result of entertainment product consumption Affect: Enjoyment ----- most communication researchers use the term enjoyment to describe positive affective responses from entertainment media and its contents (e.g., Miron, 2003; Raney & Bryant, 2002; Tamborini, 2003). ----- Media-related enjoyment is a complex construct that includes references to physiological, affective, and cognitive dimensions (Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld, 2004). ----- According to the pleasure-arousal theory, media enjoyment exists of two dimensions: a valence dimension, which is linked to the positive emotions and an energy dimension that refers to the emotion's level of activation, arousal, or the degree to which it triggers alertness (e.g., Posner et al., 2005). ----- Enjoyment also occurs when facing content designed to stimulate negative emotional states (de Wied et al., 1994; Oliver, 2008; Vorderer, 2003). Affect: Eudemonia ----- Eudemonia: greater insight, self reflection, or contemplations of poignancy or meaningfulness (e.g., what makes life valuable and meaningful) ----- Entertainment emotions are not the same as "real-life emotions" because of the reappraisal process that takes place, allowing negative emotions such as sadness to co-exist with positive ones such as joy (Kawakami et al., 2013). ----- An explanation for choosing entertainment that triggers negative emotions, and particularly sadness, is emotional support. ----- Entertainment is used to intentionally intensify a negative emotional state in order to work through it. ----- By seeing the misery of others (downwards social comparison) we realize how good our lives are, which leads to enjoyment of these types of media (Oliver, 2008).

Affective Disposition Theory

Affective disposition theory (ADT) states that entertainment users make moral judgements about characters in a narrative which in turn affect their enjoyment of the narrative (Zillmann & Cantor, 1972). ----- Moral judgement: concerned with the principles of right and wrong behaviour. Is the character virtuous, good, righteous, honorable, honest, just, or otherwise a decent human being. Appeal of Anti-Heroes ----- affective disposition theory (ADT) highlights the importance of making a positive moral evaluation of the protagonist, if viewers are to enjoy the narrative ----- however, as an anti-hero narrative, the protagonist can be liked and the film can be enjoyed as much as a traditional hero narrative, despite the protagonist being immoral ----- as a supplement to the ads model, Shafer and Raney (2012) propose that viewers apply moral disengagement ----- viewers look for narrative cues that allow them to put aside moral scrutiny, or overlock moral failing. ----- they actively seek out narrative elements that allow them to reduce the role of morality within their evaluation of anti-hero characters Narrative Engagement and Disposition ----- entertainment products transport their creator's attitudes and values which have the potential to influence people's perception of the world ----- their teaching role is vital to our culture and communities ----- through its heroes, they teach us how to be a good person ----- entertainment media is one of the most powerful vehicles to accentuate or challenge traditional values and norms ----- in stereotypical portrayals of characters who either represent the dominant culture, or of those who do not ascribe to its values (Dolby, 2003).

The Hero's Journey

All Hero Stories are Similar ----- Joseph Campbell's (1949) The Hero with a Thousand Faces ----- mono-myth: the hero's journey ----- all great tales, myths, and legends share the same structure ----- a hero venture forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonders ----- fabulous forces are there encountered and a decisive victory is won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man The Hero's Journey ----- The Writer's Journey (Vogler, 2007) ----- a practical guide to the hero with a thousand faces ----- twelve stages of the hero's journey ----- Stages: ordinary world, call to adventure, refusal of the call, mentor, first threshold, tests, allies, enemies, approach to inmost cave (crisis), ordeal, reward (climax), the road back, resurrection, return with the elixir

Hollywood World Domination

American market for foreign productions has been described as 'impenetrable and unattainable' (Brunet and Gornostaeva 2006, p. 61) ----- India produces more films than any other country in the world, but it exports relatively few films. ----- Their films obtain a higher share of their national market than any other country, with the exception of Iran (no US movies in the top 10) Hollywood Franchises ----- Success of a movie sequel depends on the parent brand's awareness and image. ----- The reception of the initial movie impacts the revenue of a sequel and other extensions (Van der Stede, 2015). ----- Success is not judged solely on the success of the initial product, but on the success of the franchise as a whole. ----- Disney has built a mega-franchise consisting of multiple interconnected characters and brands known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Anti Hero

Anti-heroes are protagonists whose conduct is at best morally ambiguous, questionable and at times unjustifiable (Janicke & Raney, 2015). ----- consider the Hero & Villain Matrix (Allison & Smith, 2015) ----- an antagonist who ends up morally positive is an anti-villain ----- or a protagonist who ends up morally negative is an anti-hero Anti-heroes have anti-villains and villains ----- antagonists who are morally righteous and try to stop the protagonist are not villains, but anti-villains ----- they are simply obeying the law, or protecting their rights (Allison & Smith, 2015). Heroes and Villains ----- the mirror villain is a dark example of what the hero could be ----- the hero gets his abilities and decides to use them for good, where the mirror villain takes those and uses them for evil (Burke, 2008) ----- sometimes the hero and villain do not share any commonalities or similar origins ----- the hero is simply the force of good, the antithesis of the evil villain Good vs. Ugly ----- the halo effect ----- physically attractive individuals are assigned more favourable qualities, including personality traits, overall happiness, and career success, compared to an unattractive person ----- (Dion et al. 1972) Round vs. Sharp ----- bouba/kiki effect ----- (Köhler, 1929)

Creativity and Innovation

Creativity and Innovation ----- creativity describes coming up with novel connections between elements or ideas in order to create something new, interesting or good, ----- whereas innovation means the process of actually implementing a creative idea and turning it into something marketable (Amabile, 1996) ----- Creative types are often driven by a desire for the art itself, rather than any economic interest; their reward is derived from the aesthetic or cultural value of the product (Bryant & Throsby, 2006). ----- In the creation of entertainment products, there is often an inherent tension between artistic and economic goals. ----- Financial constraints can act as a catalyst for innovation, experimentation and creativity, using less costly inputs (Scopelliti, Busacca, & Mazursky, 2013) Exploitation vs. Innovation ----- Familiarity is often an essential element on the road to selection and enjoyment of entertainment products because it can activate positive memories and emotions. ----- People are looking for something novel that reimagines what they're expecting and yet they want the things that are very familiar to them (Fritz & Schwartzel, 2017). ----- The challenge with innovation is one of exploitation (i.e. using existing assets when creating new products) versus exploration (i.e. pursuing of new ideas and intellectual properties). ----- Over-reliance on exploitation can reduce the firm's ability to discover entirely new opportunities, leaving it trapped at a "suboptimal equilibria" (March, 1991). ----- Entertainment products need to be rich, sufficiently innovative, and/or varied enough from previous products to cause arousing sensations in the consumer, thereby avoiding a "same old-same old" feel (Busch & D'Alessandro, 2016)

Cultural Studies: Making Monsters

Cultural Studies: making Gaga monsters ----- Interviews with an international sample of 45 self-described Little Monsters, exploring the unusual relationship between Lady Gaga and her fans. ----- She is both a maternal safe haven and an eccentric symbol drawing on the current cultural preoccupation with the monstrous (Click, Lee, & Holladay, 2013). ----- Aims of this study: ----- How fans articulate their identification with the label "Little Monsters," ----- How fans characterize their own monstrosities. ----- How fans relate to Lady Gaga as Mother Monster. ----- We also considered the role Gaga's extraordinary reciprocity, enabled by social media, plays in the maintenance of the relationship between Mother and Little Monsters. ----- We found that Lady Gaga's re-articulation of the negative connotations of "monster" enabled fans to use her as a mirror to reflect upon and embrace their differences from mainstream culture. Media Psychology: 'Till it happens to you ----- Music videos are used as communication tools to raise awareness of cultural, societal, and political issues. Lady Gaga's music video for "Til It Happens To You" (2015) aims to raise awareness of sexual assault (Bowman et al., 2018) ----- The aim of their study is to analyze the extent to which music videos, compared with song listening alone, might have a greater impact on narrative comprehension (H1), engagement (H2), and prosocial effects (H3). ----- 121 participants (M = 24.6, 60 women) were randomly exposed to one of three conditions: 1) music no video; 2) music video; 3) music video with PSA. ----- Regardless of explicit PSA or not, the inclusion of the visual elements inherent to music videos (compared with the audio-only song) leads to both increased comprehension of the song's core messages and increased narrative engagement with that narrative. ----- However, there was no direct association between stimulus and RMA.

Successful Products

Economic value generally originates from consumers' selection of entertainment products - ----- if consumers are not interested in selecting an entertainment product, no value is created and no money earned. ----- Selection (e.g., revenue, 'eyeballs') and responses (e.g., reviews, awards) influence the development or (dis)continuation of similar or subsequent entertainment (e.g., franchising, replication, serialization, sequelization). ----- Success is achieved by stimulating the engagement of consumers and triggering positive feedback loops among consumers and media. ----- Engagement gets more people involved (creating more awareness) and strong anticipation is a key antecedent for future success in most entertainment markets. Success Breeds Success ----- Cumulative advantage process: successful songs, films, or games are not necessarily 'better', people simply tend to like what other people like. ----- Quality products will eventually flow to the top, but success is manageable. ----- Early winners have an inside track for future successes (Praeger, 2008). ----- Winners and losers get free publicity: top-grossing films are seen as good, whereas films with lower than expected attendance are 'losers'. ----- Early winners (even by an initial narrow margin) show huge differences in the long run compared to second place (Salganik & Watts, 2008)

Effects of Games

Effects of Games ----- Playing (in general) helps kids discover proper human interaction and control their emotions (Ohler, 2006) ----- Frequent gamers showed better skills at visual perception: tracking targets, identifying change, faster response times and improved accuracy (Dye, Green & Bavelier, 2009). ----- Game experience was unrelated to real-world reaction time and visual perception tasks (Richardson, Powers, Bousquet, 2011) Consider examples such as: ----- Doom (iD, 1993) ----- Columbine High School shooting (1999) ----- 13 dead ----- killer played Doom & Wolfenstein ----- Moral panic "monsters next door" ----- violent media made them do it ----- Utoya, Norway in 2011 ----- 8 dead, two bombs in Oslo ----- 69 dead in Utoya ----- the 33y.o. killer said he practiced his shot using a war simulation game ----- Connecticut 2012, Adam Lanza killed 20 children ----- had a Black Ops bunker, COD obsession Theoretical Evidence for violent effects of video games ----- Desensitization ----- Repeated exposure to the pain and suffering of other people in violent games will desensitize you, causing you to feel less empathy for the victims of real-world violence, and making you possibly more likely to inflict harm upon them (Engelhardt et al., 2011). ----- Schema theory ----- Aggressive behavior comes from the knowledge structures (schema) that you have learned through repeated exposure to violent entertainment (Huesmann, 1986) ----- If you learn that violence is the (only) solution to conflicts, you are more likely to interpret real-world situations as aggressive, and more likely to respond violently when confronted with a conflict. could mean that many killers were inspired by violent games ----- A theory can be only be proven scientifically if all alternative theories are proven to be false ----- We know these killers played CoD (sometimes obsessively) ----- We do not know if they were inspired by this game ----- We do not know whether they would have acted differently if they had never played this game ----- conclusion: school shootings can never be used as scientific evident for the effects of violent media Conclusions of Research on Violent Video Games: Playing Violent Games Influences Aggression ----- Review of 35 recent experiments (2006-2013) into the effects of playing violent video games. ----- Research has demonstrated a consistent association between violent video game use and increases in aggressive behavior, aggressive affect, and aggressive cognitions. ----- Research also shows decreases in prosocial behavior, empathy, and moral engagement. ----- Overall weak effect, stronger effect for sub-groups (e.g., trait aggression, violent disposition) (Fikkers et al., 2016).

Effects of Watching Horror

Effects of watching Horror ----- watching The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) caused an increase in heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and leukocytes in 32 healthy volunteers, compared to controls sitting quietly in a room ----- this, horror temporarily improved viewers immune system (Mian, Shelton-Rayner, Harkin, & Williams) ----- more control over real-world fears (Weaver, 2009) ----- generally, watching horror films causes discomfort (Harris & Cook, 2010) ----- it may also cause anxiety, sleeping disorder, nightmares, and nausea ----- during a mediated experience, we know it will end Fear Appeal ----- a disposition ----- a persuasive message that attempts to arouse fear in order to divert behaviour through the threat of impending danger ----- it presents risk, the vulnerability of the risk, and suggests a form of protection ----- this is appealing as it takes consumer's fear away ----- Trump uses fear to gain traction

Entertainment Communication

Entertainment Communication ----- based on a thorough theoretical and empirical analysis of the factors that define entertainment and its products, the economics of the industry, and the application of its mechanics to achieve certain effects within specific contexts ----- the impact of entertainment reaches far beyond the economic value or the vast amount of time we invest in its consumption ----- it resonates throughout our culture, shapes our view of reality, and influences our thoughts, motivations, actions, and vocabulary ----- entertainment is a valuable source of knowledge for consumers about their world, including people, events, and cultural or political institutions (Kolker, 1999) Modern-day Entertainment ----- 832 new movies released in US in 2019 (16 per week) ----- most were wide release (>500 screens) ----- 646,152 unique program titles on streaming services (Nielsen, 2019) ----- 10,000 new music albums in 2018 ----- 500 hours of content uploaded to YouTube every minute ----- much more than smartphone, car, or brand releases in the US

Entertainment Influence

Entertainment has an effect on the viewer ----- after watching Zero Dark Thirty, or Argo, students had a more positive view of US politics and government (Pautz, 2015) ----- young kid's engagement with disney princess products caused more female gender-stereotypical behaviour 1 year later (Coyne, 2016) ----- when Top Gun ruled the box office in 1986, applications for the armed services in the US skyrocketed (Rigby, 2015) ----- exposure to Trump through the Apprentice predicted believing his promises, disregarding his unpopular statements, and having more positive evaluations of him (Gabriel, Paravati, Green, & Flomsbee, 2018)

Game Theory

Evaluates alternate strategies when outcome depends not only on each individual's strategy but also that of others. ----- two players choose to defect or cooperate, each decision leads to the other player facing different outcomes ----- this is considered by distribution channels when releasing a product Consider the Prisoner's Dilemma ----- Two Players: Benny and Andy ----- if both stay silent, they each get a 1 year sentence ----- if Benny betrays Andy, but Andy stays silent, Andy gets 10 years and Benny is free and vice versa ----- if they betray each other, both get 5 years ----- only by cooperating would they know that if they both stay silent they both get the least sentence Equilibrium (John Nash, 1928 - 2015) ----- There is always an optimal strategy a player should follow to avoid losing and maximize winnings ----- In situations where two parties have information about the possibilities of themselves and those of their opponent, and the expected outcome of both, there is an optimal strategy that minimizes loss and maximizes profit. ----- Equilibrium: None of the players can improve their position without the other being able to profit MORE. Toilet Paper hoarding ----- Nash Equilibrium when nobody hoards, as then both players have 2 rolls ----- if everyone hoards, the other player has an extra roll ----- if one hoards, and the other doesn't, then one has 0 and the other 6

Motivations for listening to Music

Familiarity ----- The mere exposure effect describes the popular idea that repeated exposure to stimuli (also music) tends to increase liking (Zajonc, 2001). ----- Familiarity is relevant for the selection of songs as consumers show a preference for music that sounds more or less familiar (e.g., Ward et al., 2014). ----- A skin and Mauskapf (2017) found that similarity with hit songs enhances a song's commercial success. ----- However, being too similar to previous hits can hurt a song's hit potential after a critical similarity threshold value is passed. At a certain point, satiation sets in. Song Satiation ----- In a laboratory experiment in which students had to listen to a selection of songs that they had indicated to 'like very much' earlier. ----- Students' enjoyment of listening those songs was drastically lower when they had to listen to the same songs repeatedly (Ratner et al., 1999). ----- After repeated exposure to a 'liked' song, arousal decreases and boredom sets in (Bernlyne, 1960). ----- The Wundt curve describes the experience of arousal being optimal when achieving a compromise between boredom and surprise. ----- McGurk Effect ----- a perceptual phenomenon that demonstrates an interaction between hearing and vision in speech perception. The illusion occurs when the auditory component of one sound is paired with the visual component of another sound, leading to the perception of a third sound.

Hollywood Industry

Films are seen as investments that need protection ----- control of, and cooperation with the press ----- anticipating tastes and preferences of the audience (genre conventions) ----- appeal to popular culture (ridicule and resentment of high culture) ----- mass marketing (publicity and advertising) ----- film factories: mass output, routine ----- division of labor: specialisation of roles in the film industry ----- known as The Studio System MPPDA ----- in 1922, construct and maintain positive image ----- promote wholesome content ----- eliminate the competition (radio, motoring) ----- the Hays Code Studio System - Star System ----- the method for creating, promoting, and exploiting movie stars in Hollywood ----- emphasis on star image rather than acting abilities ----- promising young actors were selected by film studios, given personas (often new names and backgrounds) ----- slave-contracts tied them to a studio for seven years, had to do all that was requested of the studio ----- e.g. Safety Last (1923), The Black Pirate (1926) First successful stop motion animation ----- King Kong, 1933 ----- after 1927 came talkies ----- first film with sound: The Jazz Singer, 1927 ----- diegetic sound incorporates all noises that have a source on-screen ----- non-diegetic sound is all noise which has no source on-screen, and has been added Self-Imposed Censorship ----- MPPC ----- Motion Picture Production Code ----- to govern the making of motion and talking pictures

Theories on Humour

First Theory on Humour: Incongruity theory ----- (Koestler, 1964) ----- Humor is perceived the moment one realizes that there is incongruity between the presumed relation between a concept in a certain situation and the actual object in relation to a situation. ----- Absurdity, nonsense, and surprise are vital themes in humor covered by this theory Second Theory on Humour: Superiority theory ----- (Keith-Spiegler, 1972) ----- Laughing at the misfortune of others (schadenfreude) because it confirms the superiority of the viewer at the expense of the victim's shortcomings. ----- Ridicule and making fun of those who are less fortunate or who deviate from the norm are typical themes of humor covered by superiority theory. Third Theory on Humour: Relief theory ----- (Berlyne, 1972) ----- assumes that laughter results from a release of nervous energy ----- in this view, humour is mainly used to reveal suppressed desires and to overcome sociocultural inhibitions ----- humour explained by relief theory usually involves sexual, aggressive, or lewd themes Scatalogical Humour ----- type of humour that makes the audience cringe ----- often vulgar and crosses the line for the sake of making people laugh ----- general rule: the joke has to be funnier than it is offensive Laughter is the Best Medicine ----- Humour can reduce stress and ease suffering (Dixon, 1980) ----- Increases quality of life: more positive prospects, more initiative, greater resistance to setbacks (Zillmann & Vorderer, 2000)

Game Flow

Flow -----(Csíkszentmihályi, 1992) is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. ----- In order to experience Flow in games, the challenges are constantly adjusted to the perceived difficulty of the player (Chumbley & Griffiths, 2006). ----- Increasing difficulty caused a stronger flow experience than lowering or continuous difficulty (Qin et al., 2010). Flow & Difficulty ----- Difficulty and time increase together ----- due to in-game experience the play has acquired ----- relative difficulty and perceived difficulty ----- power that the an avatar has to meet challenges ----- absolute difficulty Progressive Rewards: Pacing ----- Pacing: First progress quickly to build up your investment perception, and once you are invested, it starts to get harder and takes longer to achieve rewards ----- Endowed Progress: ----- When people receive a feeling of advancement towards a distant goal, they're more likely to try harder and try longer to reach that goal, relative to people who have an equally easy goal but who had no sense of momentum from the start (Nunes & Dreze, 2006).

Free Games

Free-to-Play or Freemium Games ----- Freemium Games are games that can be downloaded for free ----- players spend money (premium) on additional features or virtual attributes (Richardson, 2011) Free Games! ----- The distribution of free samples is a common and important promotional tool for many products (Schultz et al. 1998). ----- Most Free-to-play games have imbedded advertising (94%), with many offering rewarded video ads (82%), which unlock content in exchange for watching an ad (Deloitte, 2019). ----- Micro-transactions: Exchange real-money for virtual currency (Not vice versa). ----- Offering virtual goods is considered to be the most popular monetization technique used in the current freemium gaming landscape. (Marchand & Hennig-Thurau, 2013). Value of Virtual Currencies ----- By turning real money into a virtual representation of money, the psychological value of money is lowered, which makes it easier to spend (Raghubir & Srivastava, 2008). ----- Suspension of Judgement is a structural characteristic of gambling that temporarily disrupts the gambler's financial value system and potentially stimulates further gambling (Griffiths, 1995) ----- Artificial Scarcity: Products that are limited in supply or hard to get will be more attractive than products that appear abundant(Worchel et al., 1975). Reciprocity ----- Mail-based fundraisers 35% more successful by adding free return stamps as a tiny gift with each appeal. ----- Encouraging reciprocity proved more effective than liking (Cialdini, 2001). Popular Microtransactions ----- Hamari et al (2017) described several Freemium purchase motivations related to competition, self-presentation, and being able to smoothly continue playing without obstructions or distractions (related to competence, relatedness and autonomy). ----- Competition. Any in-game items that boost the performance of players thus giving them an advantage over other players. ----- Functional virtual goods have the ability to enhance the player's in-game skill by making the player stronger due to in-game advantages, thus making the player more efficient in the game (Novak et al., 2013).

Smartphones

From film to smartphones ----- Somewhere in the late 1950s television supplanted cinema as the central form of narrative (Cook, 1996). ----- Television has become the source of the most broadly-shared images and messages in history. ----- It is the mainstream of the common symbolic environment into which our children are born and in which we all live out our lives (Gerbner, 1998). ----- The Internet is now, by some margin, the prime medium of our cultural production (Harris, 2016). ----- Survey among 7000 16-30 year olds in several countries indicated that being online is so important to today's youth that over half (53%) would give up their sense of smell rather than lose access to it (McCann, 2011). Life is Online ----- Today's youth have been raised in a media saturated world; the Internet, smart phones, and video games have been commonplace since their infancy. That is why they are labelled as Digital Natives (Coyne et al., 2013). ----- Mobile phones provide a continual sense of connection to the wider social world - a feeling that persists even if a mobile is in silent mode (Plant, 2000). ----- Phones can direct attention away from face-to-face conversations by making concerns about maintaining wider social networks salient (Turkle, 2011).

Product, DESIGN, Affect, and Disposition

From product to DESIGN ----- the design of an entertainment product is a combination of interrelated structural, technological, and narrative elements that form the language of entertainment and thereby provide a coherent experience to users This affects EXPERIENCE ----- Sensations are the sensory reactions resulting from exposure to an external stimulation (Zuckerman, 1979). ----- Sensory reactions are bodily, physiological processes and are distinct from cognitive processes such as thinking and interpretation. ----- Immersion indicates the extent to which a medium is capable of delivering an inclusive, extensive, and vivid illusion of a depicted reality (Slater & Wilbur, 1997). Experience - suspension of disbelief ----- this must be willing ----- justifies the use and enjoyment of fantastic or non-realistic elements in fiction ----- suspension of disbelief is essential for engagement with any kind of fictional narrative (Schaper, 1978) Experience - Verisimilitude ----- Verisimilitude means similar to truth. ----- Within fiction, not all fiction is equally believable. ----- Verisimilitude entails the notion of appropriateness. ----- If something in a film is appropriate within the codes or rules of a genre, it is plausible (Neale, 1990). Experience - Transportation ----- Narrative transportation describes a situation in which viewers are so engrossed in an experience, they lose track of the real world for a while (van Laer et al., 2014). ----- Transportation depends on characteristics of the narrative and the person who consumes it. ----- Identifiable characters are imperative, if audiences cannot relate to the thoughts and feelings of a novel's hero or heroine, they cannot empathize with these characters (Slater & Rouner, 2002). ----- Transportability is generally stronger for females because they, on average, have a higher empathy potential. ----- No such differences have been found for different age groups (van Laer et al., 2014) Experience - Flow ----- Flow (Csíkszentmihályi, 1992) is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. ----- In order to experience Flow in games, the challenges should be constantly adjusted to the increasing skills of the player (Chumbley & Griffiths, 2006)

Talent Shows

Gamification in Talent Shows ----- the application of mechanics from games to change behaviors in non-game situations. ----- Idols increases viewer engagement and participation through gamification (Robson et al., 2015) ----- Idols and other talent shows illustrate how gamification can be successfully applied SDT in Talent Shows ----- Self Determination Theory: People are intrinsically motivated to select entertainment that meets inherent human needs (Ryan & Deci, 2000). ----- Competence: Seek to control the outcome and experience mastery ----- Autonomy: Desire to be causal agents of one's own life ----- Relatedness: Desire to interact, and experience a connection with others Talent Shows SDT vs MDA ----- Mechanic ----- Contestants can become an Idol (record-deal) ----- Contestants move on to the next round ----- Jury and viewers select the winners ----- Everybody can participate ----- Idols organizes auditions across the country ----- Viewers can help determine who goes through ----- Contestants give a performance every week ----- Contestants tell personal stories ----- Contestants are 'not professionals' Dynamic ----- Competition ----- Progress ----- Elimination ----- Variety ----- Preference ----- Selection ----- Recognition ----- Empathy ----- Identification Affect ----- Competence ----- Competence ----- Competence ----- Autonomy ----- Autonomy ----- Autonomy ----- Relatedness ----- Relatedness ----- Relatedness

High Culture in Hollywood

Golden Age of Hollywood ----- 1930-1960 ----- enormous production capacity (500 films each year) (Van Elteren, 2003) ----- economies of scale: enormous concentration of talent and financial means for film production in the wider LA area ----- ensured their products being sold at rates well below the cost of any other competing market (Scott 2002) -----

Storytelling Structure

Great storytelling would require a number of parts, often referred to as acts ----- three acts are needed according to Greek philosophers like Aristotle (beginning, middle, and end) ----- Roman poet Horace claimed five acts were needed (prologue, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement). Thompson (1999) developed the four-acts structure for movies ----- based on her manual coding of 73 movies, she found industry standards in an almost equal allocation of runtime across the four acts 1. Setup, key characters are introduced, their motivations, and the environments 2. Complicating action, in which new difficulties are introduced 3. Development, in which the story broadens and the characters struggle 4. Climax, in which the action concludes and conflicts are resolved

Hipstamatic vs. Instagram

Hipstematic ----- App released in December 2009 that allowed you to digitally manipulate photos on your iPhone ----- Apple's 2010 App of the year ----- ~ 5 million times downloaded (2012) Instagram ----- App released in October 2010 that allowed you to digitally manipulate photos on your iPhone ----- Apple's 2011 App of the year ----- Facebook bought Instagram in 2012 for $1bln ----- Currently ~ 1 billion users Optimal Distinctiveness ----- Hot or Not was a website started in October 2000 that allowed you to rate pictures on a scale from 1 (not) to 10 (hot). ----- After each rating, raters discovered how close their rating was to the mean rating of thousands of other raters. ----- Optimal distinctiveness: Individuals desire to attain an optimal balance of inclusion and distinctiveness within and between social groups and situations (Brewer, 2003). Memes ----- A meme is defined as a popular image, video, or piece of text, typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly online, with slight variations. ----- 'Memetic' alludes to the act of participation through mimesis, a fundamental aspect of this video type (Shifman, 2012) ----- consider the Harlem Shake

Entertainment

How does one define entertainment? ----- Painters make paintings, but only a representative of the art-world can make art Entertainment ----- any market offering whose main purpose is to provide pleasure to consumers, vs. offering primarily functional utility (Hennig-Thurau & Houston) ----- a complex, dynamic, and multi-faceted experience one goes through while being exposed to this type of media (Vorderer, 2001) ----- understood not so much as a product (movie, game, or tv show) or as a feature of such a product (action, comedy) but rather as a response to it (Zillman & Bryant, 1994) ----- at the heart of the entertainment experience lies enjoyment, a product of numerous interactions between conditions on both the user's and the media's side (Vorderer, 2004)

Online Gambling

How does online gambling work? Consider Loot Boxes in video games ----- A loot box is a consumable virtual item which can be redeemed to receive a randomized selection of virtual items, ranging from simple customization options for a player's character, to game-changing equipment such as weapons and armor. ----- Pleasure Paradox ----- Although uncertainty is usually seen as an undesirable state that should be reduced, once we understand things we tend to find them kind of boring and predictable (Wilson, et al., 2005). Random Reinforcement Schedules ----- The European Gambling Commission does not class loot boxes as gambling because the items obtained from them cannot be exchanged for real-life money. Gambling: The Illusion of Control ----- People search for control that allows for mastery and predictive power over their environment (Reid, 1986) ----- Gamblers often experience an expectancy of personal success inappropriately higher than objective probability would warrant (Langer, 1975). ----- Increased sense of control if they handled the dice ----- Harder throws for higher numbers, soft for lower numbers ----- Coin Flip - perception of skill after 'winning' ----- Near misses serve to maintain persistent gambling (Dixon & Schrieber, 2004) Video game loot boxes blamed for rise in young problem gamblers ----- Several survey studies have found that individuals who spent more on loot boxes also show more severe their problem gambling (Macey & Hamari, 2018; Zendle & Cairns, 2019). ----- These results suggest either that loot boxes either act as a gateway to problem gambling, or that individuals with gambling problems are drawn to spend more on loot boxes. In either case, efforts are taken to regulate loot boxes. ----- consider Sega Slots (Freemium game, 2018)

Sitcom

Humorous television show ----- a situation comedy ----- the most common, successful, and culturally significant type of television programming (Krumhansl & Zupnick, 2013) ----- comedic situations in fast succession that cause amusing friction between characters Characteristics of comedy viewers ----- trait: lightheartedness as a personality trait (Simon, 1990) ----- state: stress (Collins et al. 1996) ----- state: menstruation (Medoff, 1980) ----- state: people with small problems, or a slightly negative state (O'neal & Taylor, 1989) Sitcoms are Episodical ----- follow an episodic distribution, so audiences can drop in on a show at any point, without knowing the story of prior episodes ----- allows TV networks to syndicate episodic comedies like How I met your Mother, Friends, or South Park ----- the shows play on some TV channel most evenings, grabbing attention of channel-surfers serial television has a continuing plot that unfold in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion ----- they typically follow main story arcs that span entire seasons or even the full run of the series

The Start of Comedy

Humorous television show ----- a situation comedy ----- the most common, successful, and culturally significant type of television programming (Krumhansl & Zupnick, 2013) ----- comedic situations in fast succession that cause amusing friction between characters First Comedies ----- Cinema of Attractions - Slices of Life ----- e.g. Fred Ott The Sneeze (1984) ----- or the Sprinkler Sprinkled Slapstick ----- a form of comedy with emphasis on physical jokes, in which actions cross the limits of physically desirable behaviour ----- slapstick elements mostly involve mishaps or interpersonal violence between characters ----- <1927 no sound in moves so there was greater focus on action and speed of moving images ----- making fun of authority - appeal to low culture ----- slapstick is more appreciated if the viewer feels less empathy for the victim (McGraw & Warren, 2010) Charlie Chaplin - The Tramp (1915) ----- first world-wide movie phenomenon ----- slow down comedy ----- focus on character development, hint of melodrama ----- Seven Chances (1925) also good example

Drama at the Oscars

In a dataset of 5,000 movies with a wide release, there is a positive correlation between Oscar wins and the genre Drama ----- we find positive correlations between Oscar wins and genres History and Biography ----- negative correlation between genres Action and Comedy and Oscar wins disposition describes the predominant or prevailing tendency of a person's mental attitude ----- what entertainment you like and dislike based on past experiences ----- the most popular set of dispositions is what we call: popular culture

Niche Strategy

Indie Filmmakers: Niche Strategy ----- The niche strategy abstains from massive financial investments, such as a large production budget and mass marketing, that are fundamental for blockbuster marketing (Elberse 2013). ----- Instead, the niche concept involves investing modest sums into the production of a new product that is targeted not to the mass market, but to a specific, clearly defined segment of consumers. ----- The goal of communication in niche marketing is not to create pre-release buzz but to enable the consumers who experienced the product to transport the impact of that experience to others though (digital) WoM. ----- Distribution efforts also are very focused on the target group (e.g., arthouse cinemas; specific film festivals). Grassroots Campaign ----- Grassroots-, Niche-, or limited release strategy: ----- Aim is not to reach the biggest audience, but the right audience ----- Advertising and promotion aimed at specific audiences ----- Control over designated 'early adapters' ----- Word of Mouth of loyal fanbase should spread the word ----- Little to no promotion before release ----- Small initial investments in promotion ----- Follow-up investments when there is a 'spark' ----- Increase distribution and promotion after initial

Lady Gaga Case Study

Lady Gaga Start 2008 ----- Interscope Records - supporting act for NKOTB ----- Release first single Just Dance in April was not a success ----- Hundreds of (relatively small-scale) live-performances in a few months ----- Aimed at: dance-scene, fashionistas, art world, LGBTQ+ ----- Release of her first album The Fame first in Canada and Australia ----- Interviews with 50 of the best-known music bloggers (>10 million views) ----- YouTube Channel - Transmission Gaga-Vision - webisodes ----- 5 months after Just Dance entered the Billboard top-100 it became #1 ----- Another 5 months later, the album The Fame hit #1 (22 weeks) ----- Second single Poker Face followed #1 a month later ----- 5 songs from her debut album hit #1 in the Billboard top-100 Grass-roots campaign/ limited release strategy ----- Choice for a grassroots- or limited release strategy often stems from limited financial means Aim is not to reach the biggest audience, but the right audience ----- Advertising and promotion aimed at specific audiences ----- Control over designated 'early adapters' ----- Word of Mouth of loyal fanbase should spread the word ----- Little to no promotion before release ----- Small initial investments in promotion and distribution ----- Follow-up investments when there is a 'spark' ----- Increase distribution and promotion after initial success Lady Gaga as a SuperStar ----- 2010 VMA - 8 awards (announced BtW) ----- 2011 #1 Forbes celebrity top 100 ----- 2011 Most popular person on Facebook ----- 2011 Most Twitter-followers ----- 2011 Release new album Born this Way Born this Way Wide Release ----- 7 months between VMA-announcement and album release in May 2011 ----- Massive publicity campaign: No stone left unturned (SNL, American Idol) ----- 20.000 sales points: Starbucks, Radio Shack, Wallgreens, CVS (all tie-ins) ----- Cooperation with strong brands (Beats by Dre, Starbucks, Zynga) ----- First week: 1.1 million albums sold, immediate #1 Billboard album charts ----- Within four months Born this Way sold 2 million copies ----- 18 million individual songs from this album sold Wide Release Strategy ----- All else being equal, odds of achieving success in the marketplace are higher with a wide release strategy then with a limited release strategy (Elberse, 2013) ----- Promotion and advertising start very early ----- Enormous investments in advertising and marketing before release only ----- Revenue starts highest immediately after release, then decreases ----- further marketing: A Star is Born

Linear Model of Communication

Lasswell's linear model of communication (1948) ----- different to modern media entertainment ----- different media has different intended effects

Predicting Blockbusters

Predicting Blockbusters ----- a study by Simon-off & Sparrow in 2000 ----- identifies the importance of comedy ----- shows that for the last couple of decades around 50-60% of wide releases in the US were in the comedy genre 1. Negative relationship between the prevalence of a genre and the revenue 2. Lower age rating, higher revenue 3. English-language films more revenue 4. Major movie stars, more revenue 5. Sequels have more revenue than non-sequels 6. More oscar nominations, more revenue

Long Tail Strategy

Long tail strategy (or Niche Strategy): selling lower volumes of many hard-to-find items instead of only selling large volumes of a few popular items. ----- Anderson (2006) argues: If people can find and afford entertainment products that are more closely tailored to their individual tastes, they will feel less drawn to hit products. ----- In this online age, companies that stop focusing on selling the lowest-common-denominator products and address niche audiences will prosper. Blockbuster vs. Long-Tail ----- Elberse (2013) argues that many of products in the tail are former top-products (blockbusters). The tail is indeed much longer these days, but the overwhelming majority of these tail products provides no revenue whatsoever. ----- 90% of the revenue comes from top products (head). ----- McPhee (1963) large share of the audience for popular products consist of light users, whereas a large share of the audience for niche products consists of heavy users. Thus, hit products monopolize light users (natural monopoly). ----- All else being equal, odds of achieving success in the marketplace are higher with a Blockbuster strategy then with a limited release strategy (Elberse, 2013). Why Big Studios go for limited distribution ----- A limited release can be a test-case for unpredictable new formats or ideas ----- Experience for cast and crew, test/train them for bigger projects ----- Nichebusters - certain genres will never have mass-appeal (e.g., horror; religion) ----- Fill the pipeline: constant stream of movies keeps cinema's happy ----- Good relationship with movie critics ----- Passion project of influential actors

MDA Framework in Video Games

MDA Framework (Hunicke, LeBlanc, & Zubek, 2001) ----- applied to games Mechanics ----- The actions a player can perform• The effects of these actions on the game world Dynamics ----- The interaction between player and mechanics• Combination of dynamics provides the gameplay Affect ----- The emotional reaction that emerges from the gameplay ----- Competence - Autonomy - Relatedness Transitivity: If (A,B) and (B,C) then (A,C) is also true ----- Transitivity can be countered by intransivity or asymmetrical balance ----- Autonomy comes from the choice between multiple options, strategies or play styles. Benign Envy ----- If a goal achieved by others seems relatively easy, feelings of benign envy will motivate us to do what we can to close the gap with our competitors (van de Ven, Zeelenberg & Pieters, 2011). ----- When video games focus on the development of the characters, the need for relatedness is gratified, meaning that players do not solely relate to other players, but also with the characters in the game (Przybylski et al., 2010)

Conglomerates

Major corporation that owns smaller companies in unrelated industries Vertical Integration ----- describes transformation where a firm extends its business from one layer of the value chain (e.g. content production) to other strategic resources (e.g. distribution) ----- general aim of vertical integration is to better manage critical interdependencies between value creation activities ----- by getting rid of distribution or technological intermediaries (Walter & Barney, 1990) Horizontal Integration ----- means that a firm extends its business activities by engaging in other activities on the same layer of the value chain, addressing similar customer needs as their previous activities did. ----- Concentric integration: firms stay in the same layer, but target a different customer need (or medium), offering new products, but using existing technology or knowledge to market them. ----- In entertainment, such transformations usually mean that a firm extends its activity from one form of entertainment to others Production Costs ----- the fixed costs of producing media can be very high, but once this information product is finalised, the costs of reproducing and distributing additional copies are marginal (Varian, 1998). ----- sets entertainment products apart from industrial goods, for which the p.u. production costs are dominant (Jones & Mendelson 2011; Peltoniemi 2015) Creativity and Innovation ----- creativity describes coming up with novel connections between elements or ideas in order to create something new, interesting or good, ----- whereas innovation means the process of actually implementing a creative idea and turning it into something marketable (Amabile, 1996) ----- Creative types are often driven by a desire for the art itself, rather than any economic interest; their reward is derived from the aesthetic or cultural value of the product (Bryant & Throsby, 2006). ----- In the creation of entertainment products, there is often an inherent tension between artistic and economic goals. ----- Financial constraints can act as a catalyst for innovation, experimentation and creativity, using less costly inputs (Scopelliti, Busacca, & Mazursky, 2013)

MDA Framework

Mechanics, dynamics, and affect are used by the designer and player interchangeably to reach their goal ----- Hunicke, LeBlanc, & Zubek, 2001

Media Entertainment

Media Entertainment ----- mediated products created for the purpose of entertaining the user ----- can be free or paid ----- can be for a limited time or forever ----- can be material or immaterial ----- these are information goods, economic offerings are valued mostly due to information they carry (Wang & Zhang, 2009). Because the attributes of the experience dominate consumer's quality judgements for these products, they are also referred to as experience goods ----- Nelson (1970) ----- about creating a fan-centric business; spend little on paid digital media b/c they can put ads on their own site; biggest concern is coverage; videoquake (OTT services; delivers film/video without need for cable/satellite TV subscriptions) Types of Users ----- demographic can be: gender, age, income, education, location, ethnicity ----- social: family, friends, peers, society ----- traits and states: psychosocial traits, cognitive capabilities, attitudes, values, and beliefs, state, mood ----- media entertainment: experience, knowledge, preference

Monetisation in Video Games

Monetisation in video games ----- happens from the side of the game industry ----- games are released and designed in order to monetise Selection ----- adolescent males between 14-18 spend the most time on games ----- Video game descriptions with a higher PEGI-rating (18) were considered more attractive than the exact same descriptions with a lower age rating (12) (Bijvank et al., 2009). ----- Forbidden Fruit Theory: Children feel attracted to inappropriate media simply because it is considered inappropriate for them. ----- Children feel a stronger attraction to trying something due to the fact that it is forbidden (Cantor, 1998). ----- Similarly, Tainted fruit theory posits that lower age rating labels will decrease interest because it makes the violent content seem tame (Bushman & Stack, 1996). ----- Mature (M)-rated games, which represent a share of just 8% of current video games, accounted for 26% of best-selling games between 2008 and 2010 (Dogruel & Joeckel, 2013)

Mystery and Suspense

Mystery is an intellectual process, where information is withheld from the audience ----- suspense is an emotional process, where information is withheld only from characters ----- Hitchcock, 1970 ----- suspense is defined as audience member's acute, fearful apprehension about deplorable events that threaten the protagonists (Zillman, 1996) What creates suspense? ----- A suspense discourse (Lehne & Kölsch 2015) must contain three elements: 1. Uncertainty: an initiating event that could lea to significant, likely negative, consequences for one of the liked characters in the narrative 2. Anticipation: actions are constantly evaluated against anticipated negative predictions as the events unfold 3. Temporal Aspects: temporal distance, and additional discourse material between the initiating event that created the tension and the moment in which it is resolved ----- tension can be associated with negative emotions like fear, concern, or distress, which are generally avoided ----- other times, tension can be positive and be a major motivator to engage in certain activities ----- Goldfinger's bomb-countdown

Narrative Design Elements

Narrative Design Elements: Plot Screenivasan (2014) study of plot descriptions of 21.583 ----- from 1960 onwards - rise of independent filmmakers ----- 1960s have the most innovative plots in the history of film New Hollywood ----- radical transformation has been called the Hollywood Renaissance, or New Hollywood (Kokonis, 2009) ----- lower output, concentrating on potential blockbusters ----- focus: movies with options for a sequel, merchandise, tie-ins The First Blockbuster ----- Before the summer of 1975, Hollywood studios did not advertise on network television because it was too expensive. ----- For three nights preceding the release of Jaws, Universal saturated the networks during primetime with 30-second trailers for the movie. ----- The film easily surpassed the $100-million mark at the box office ----- Jaws opened on 490 screens and started a trend of opening a movie in hundreds of theaters at the same time (a wide release = 600+ screens) ----- Started the Summer Blockbuster trend ----- Poltergeist ----- Raiders of the Lost Ark ----- Temple of Doom

Narrative Mechanisms

Narrative Mechanisms ----- panting ----- foreshadowing Chekhov's Gun (1911) ----- If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off ----- if it is not going to be fired it shouldn't be hanging there MacGuffin ----- a plot device in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist is willing to do and sacrifice almost anything to pursue, often with little or no narrative explanation as to why it is considered desirable Red Herring ----- a cue to the plot which intentionally or unintentionally misleading ----- Deus Ex Machina is a plot decide where a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly solved with the contrived and unexpected intervention of some event, character, ability, or object Narrative engagement ----- The user and their parasocial interactions, empathy, liking, wishful identification all adds to narrative engagement ----- Parasocial Relationship ----- A one-sided, interpersonal relationship in which the viewer/user knows and understands a media persona or character (Perse & Rubin, 1989). ----- Empathy ----- Humans are naturally inclined to empathize with the emotions of protagonists (Cantor, 2004). ----- Viewers hereby vicariously experience the emotions displayed by the protagonist. ----- Empathy is considered a prerequisite for liking the protagonist and disliking the antagonist. ----- Liking ----- Positive evaluation of a character, and some desire for a (hypothetical) friendship (Cohen, 2001)

Netflix Algorithms

Netflix Algorithm 1 ----- User-to-user filtering finds other users whose ratings of products (or choices for films) are similar to a target user and then predict to what degree this user will like a product he or she has not yet experienced, based on the choices of those "taste neighbors" (e.g., Ekstrand et al. 2010). Netflix Algorithm 2 ----- Item-to-item filtering uses similarities between rating patterns of products (or in this case films), rather than between individual users. Although this connection is also based on similarities with other users, the algorithm focuses on the 'item neighbors', not the taste of similar individuals. Netflix Algorithms (3) ----- Content-based recommendations use the inherent attributes of a product, not other consumers' subjective judgments, as the source of similarity. ----- Products whose attributes match those of products liked by a consumer are recommended, while those with different attributes are not. Success of Algorithms ----- Collaborative filtering approaches are potentially extremely powerful recommendation tools, and their governing algorithms are important strategic resources (Jannach et al., 2016). ----- Matrix factorization (and singular value decomposition, in particular), has been successfully applied in an algorithm than won the "Netflix Prize," a $1 million award given to the team that increased the prediction accuracy of their algorithm by at least 10% (Gower 2014; see Koren et al. 2009 for a general overview). ----- Managing entertainment products using theory-based data analytics.

Piracy in Distribution

One of the biggest problems in the distribution sector of the music industry ----- Piracy has been a problem for the music industry since the 1980s and initiatives to prevent it (e.g., prohibition of recording technologies, fines and appeals to reason) have had mixed success (Zaleski 2016). ----- Introduction of digital storage media (CD, CD-ROM, DVD) enabled copying without loss of quality. ----- Peer-to-peer service Napster was unleashed in May 1999, had 20 million users in less than a year. ----- Napster was mainly used for sharing digital audio files encoded in MP3 format. ----- Complemented by new hardware technology (CD burners or MP3 players), downloaded files quickly became an attractive substitute for the purchase of legal entertainment products (Liebowitz, 2008). ----- Consumers prefer a pirated format over the legal one when they perceive it to offer greater utility: moral reflections lower the likelihood of file sharing, whereas Internet skills increase it (Rochelandet & Le Guel, 2005). Effects of Online Piracy ----- In 2008, for every song sold through iTunes, there were an estimated 20 illegal downloads (IFPI, 2008). ----- Broad consensus among scholars that music piracy substantially cannibalizes industry revenues, and that piracy is the main single reason for the music industry's shrinkage. ----- Piracy had a strong negative effect on the revenue in the Music Industry, particularly among popular artists (Bhattacharjee et al., 2007). ----- It also made people get accustomed to the concept of downloading one (free) song and not pay for bundles (albums). ----- Unbundling (reduced focus on albums) negatively affected the revenue of the Music Industry (Elberse, 2010). But the focus on individual songs became standard practice. Nowadays, with streaming services readily available: ----- revenues have been maintained again ----- additionally, Vinyl became popular again and modern songs are being made in vinyl again

Hollywoodland

Original name on what was supposed to be a temporary sign in the hills of California highlighting a luxurious land development ----- The American cinema is a classical art, not only the talent of this or that filmmaker, but the genius of the system (Andre Basin, 1957) Thomas Edison: Kinetoscope (1891) ----- Birth of cinema ----- also kept it under wraps, cameras were only allowed for certain purposes due to the Edison patent ----- In US: Edwin Porter (The Great Train Robber, 1903) ----- different things happening in California, KKK making sure no blacks in film Why Hollywood? ----- US didn't participate in WWI ----- good climate (sunlight for hours) ----- cheap (low taxes, cheap land, Mexican labourers) ----- diversity in landscapes ----- no Edison patent enforcements ----- no artistic traditions Germany 1920s ----- expressionism ----- Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari ----- artistic expression, golden age Spain ----- surrealism -----Luis Bunuel - Un Chien Andalou (1928) Russia 1920s ----- Sergei Eisenstein ----- Battleship Potemkin ----- Strike

Social Cognitive theory

Part of the Selection Mechanism ----- social cognitive theory ----- Children's behavior is learned by watching what others do and will not do in the environment in which one grows up. ----- By imitating the observed behavior (e.g., family, friends) the observer solidifies that behavior and is rewarded with positive reinforcement (Bandura, 1986). Social Conformity ----- Asch (1951) indicated the power of social conformity and normative influence ----- the willingness to conform to public opinion to attain social acceptance and avoid exclusion ----- bandwagon effect is a phenomenon where the probability of individual adoption increases with respect to the proportion of those who have already done so. Media Habits ----- a form of automatic and non-conscious media consumption behavior that develops as people repeat frequent media consumption behavior (LaRose, 2010). ----- The entertainment-saturated media expands and reinforces associations among consumption behaviors and cultural symbols. ----- Through these rich networks of associations, infrequent media consumption behaviors (e.g., playing holiday music) may also become habitual. Obsessions ----- thoughts are person cannot stop from having ----- Compulsions are behaviors a person cannot stop enacting ----- Media Addiction is excessive, obsessive and compulsive media use that cannot be controlled despite negative consequences (Griffits, 2006; Lemmens, Valkenburg & Peter, 2009)

Realism in Research

Perceived Realism in two research traditions ----- Perceived realism determines the effects of entertainment to a certain extent. ----- Through their assessment of the realistic nature of certain programs, children communicate about their taste and social identity (Buckingham, 2000). ----- Effect research into children's understanding of fantasy and reality in entertainment (Davies, 1997). ----- Girls complain about the unrealistic storyline of cartoons in order to distance themselves from the 'childish' taste of boys and to show their own maturity. ----- The greater children's perception of entertainment depicting real (or realistic) events, the stronger the effects of this content (e.g., fear, aggression). ----- Boys' criticism of the macho men in Baywatch is a reflection of their concerns about their own fragile masculinity. Effects of entertainment within cultural studies ----- Cultural studies does not conduct research into direct effects. Effect claims do not arise from research into (or analysis of) responses to media, but from examining entertainment content within the ideological interpretation of the researcher(s). For instance: ----- Violent media encourage ideologies about traditional masculinity and militarism (McLaren & Moris, 1998). ----- Disney anminated features promote racism and patriarchy (Giroux, 1998). ----- Also about Disney movies: "The gendered messages did not consistently move away from traditional themes in more recent movies." (England & Descartes, 2011, p. 566). This finding is based on a qualitative content analysis of 9 Disney films (including only 1 'recent' Disney film - Princess and the Frog 2009)

Cliffhangers

Plot device in a serialised fiction which features a main character in a precarious or difficult dilemma, or confronted with a shocking revelation at the end of an episode or before a commercial break ----- information-gap theory (Loewenstein, 1924) ----- whenever we perceive a gap between what we know and what we want to know, curiosity and other emotional consequences arise ----- a curious individual is motivated to obtain the missing information to reduce the cognitive dissonance

Product, Design, Affect, and Disposition

Product, Design, Affect, and Disposition all go into the experience and selection of a user Disposition ----- popular culture ----- a set of attitudes, values, and beliefs that is shared by a group of people ----- culture provides members the norms for their behaviour (Deshpande & Webster, 1989) ----- the domain of entertainment products created in mass quantities for a mass audience ----- generally a constantly evolving set of practices, beliefs, and values that are dominant in a society at a given time ----- cultural differences ----- a nation transmits the values of what is to be appreciated to its members, as part of a socialisation process ----- consumer's entertainment choices show their values, ambitions, beliefs, and perceptions of the world and self (Schafer & Sedlmeier, 2009) ----- cultural congruence between a movie and the audience influences how much consumers like the movie (Song et al. 2018) disposition describes the predominant or prevailing tendency of a person's mental attitude ----- what entertainment you like and dislike based on past experiences ----- the most popular set of dispositions is what we call: popular culture Disposition - Age Differences ----- consumers have impressionable years (Peltoniemi, 2015) where their taste is determined ----- Holbrook and Schindler (1989) found we like songs the most that were popular when we were 20 ----- favorite music, books, and movies all came from a period when consumers are typically between 16 and 20 years old ----- consider the reminiscence bump effect, once we reach a certain age, we recall early-life memories most readily since these are often first-time events which are more vivid and held in long-term memory (January & Parkin, 1989) Disposition - Zeitgeist ----- cultural trends can make consumers ripe for a product ----- the fit of any entertainment product's genres and themes with people's interests and desires may be high or low at a given time ----- entertainment can become and emodiement of a certain cultural zeitgeist, capturingg and reflecting the style of a certain period ----- demand for entertainment is influences by economic conditions: entertainment products are more attractive in bleaker economic times, despite less money being available ----- With corona, people are first of all consuming MUCH more entertainment ----- additionally, the themes of pandemics and contagious diseases are becoming very popular

Selection of Video Games

Selection Mechanisms in Video Games Escapism ----- Escapism through video games may constitute a coping strategy when faced with adversity. To some gamers, videogames may provide the empowerment that they are either lacking or rarely find in the real world (King & Delfabbro, 2009) Self Determination Theory ----- People are intrinsically motivated to select entertainment that meets inherent human needs (Ryan & Deci, 2000). ----- There are three main intrinsic needs involved in self-determination: ----- Competence: Seek to control the outcome and experience mastery ----- Autonomy: Desire to be causal agents of one's own life ----- Relatedness: Desire to interact, and experience a connection with others Three Intrinsic Human Needs gratified by playing games ----- Competence: sense of adequacy and progress Skill-graded challenges and positive feedback are key to player experiences of competence need satisfaction ----- Adolescent Reality ----- unclear and uncertain, school leads to feelings of incompetence ----- Autonomy: freedom to make interesting choices Autonomy is enhanced by game designs that provide considerable flexibility over movement, strategies, and choices over tasks and goals ----- Adolescent Reality ----- force them where to be, what to do, know, become ----- Relatedness: sense of community or comradery Relatedness is experienced when a person feels connected with others. ----- Adolescent Reality ----- online contact is easier ----- especially for socially anxious

PRODUCT, Design, Affect, and Disposition

Selection leads to Product! ----- for experience goods such as entertainment products, the information a consumer can gain about a product's quality via experiencing the good is far superior to the information which can be gained through pre-consumption research ----- prior to experiencing the product, it is simply a collection of objective and subjective information available to the consumer This includes: ----- Medium - the means by which it is communicated (e.g., mobile game, television show) ----- Title - the name of an entertainment product ----- Genre - describes a certain category of entertainment ----- Subject - the topic addressed in the entertainment product ----- Theme - the main thought or idea being tackled ----- Appraisals - Subjective information transmitted about the product Product - Title ----- four aspects of brand names can help consumers draw cognitive inferences about the brand and trigger imagery processes ----- these might influence attitudes and behaviour (Lowrey et al. 2003) ----- phonetics- certain sounds trigger reactions (kiki/bouba effect Kohler, 1929) ----- orthography - spelling (unconventional helps) ----- morphology - gorm, shape, or structure (font matters) ----- semantics - meaning (use a metaphor) Product - Genre ----- taken from the french term "type" ----- an abstract concept that describes a certain category of entertainment or art (King, 2002) ----- any genre evokes imager in semantic network of associations that is activated once they hear a product belongs to that genre (Cutting, 2016) ----- associations help us make quick judgements regarding what to expect, and if we will like it (Zhao 2013) ----- provide us enough familiarity to generate a sense of comfort and orientation (King, 2002) ----- beyond association, genres are important as they help contribute to organisation in the entertainment industry Product - Brand ----- entertainment brands can be considered as anything for which cognitive associations are held, that can be managed professionally (Thomson, 2006) ----- Brands have two key functions (Kelle, 1993) ----- an awareness function, a brand can generate immediate attention ----- an image function, the semantic network that surrounds a brand inside the consumer's mind, stores meanings and provides the basis by which consumers identify with a brand and differentiate it from other products

Selection on Netflix

Selection mechanisms on Netflix ----- A typical user will review 10 to 20 titles, and up to three of those in detail. ----- If they don't find anything of interest after 90 seconds, most give up. ----- About 20% of the hours spent on Netflix result from searches on the site, while about 80% is inspired by popularity rankings (Gomez-Uribe & Hunt, 2015). ----- Netflix is reported to have spent over $150 million as of 2015 just to improve their existing recommendations (tickld, 2016). ----- Netflix' algorithms also determine which picture is shown with each film or series How we choose on Netflix ----- Anchoring is a cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely heavily on the first piece of information offered (the "anchor") when making decisions. ----- The serial position effect states that when given a list of information and later asked to recall that information, the items at the beginning (primacy) and the items at the end (recency) are more likely to be recalled than the items in the middle. Easy Watching ----- Binge watching is not clearly defined. Some define a binge as watching 2-3 episodes in a row (Spangler, 2013). Others have defined it as watching a complete season within seven days (van den Dungen, 2018). ----- Opt-in policy requires a potential customer to self-select whether you wish continue with a service ----- whereas opt-out assumes you agree to continue unless you state otherwise. ----- In a study of 1000 prime-time series aired during 1963-1984, they found an average correlation of 0.49 between a program's viewership ratings and those of the show that precedes it (Tiedge & Ksobiech, 1986).

Sitcom Elements

Sitcom ----- characters, catchphrases, running gags Production: Laugh Track ----- tv comedies used live audiences before 1956 ----- after they moved to the insertion of recorded laughter (laugh tracks) as recorded episodes became popular ----- tv viewers need a cue to know that it is meant as a joke ----- social contagion of smiling and laughing increases enjoyment Sitcoms and the Fourth Wall ----- Lieberman et al (2009) performed a mixed methods study (qualitative and quantitative) to examine the effect of a laugh track in sitcoms. ----- In narratives that resemble traditional motion pictures as opposed to simplified theatrical presentations, the laugh track appears to be an impediment to humor and audience enjoyment. Mockumentary Style ----- The Office (2005 - 2013) ----- Modern Family (2012 - 2020) ----- camera crew is part of the scene ----- voyeurism (info only available to crew/audience) ----- makes laugh track implausible Affective Disposition Theory ----- ADT: users experience enjoyment when liked characters experience positive outcomes and disliked characters experience negative outcomes (Zillman & Cantor, 1972) ----- in sitcoms, one of the characters usually steps out of line ----- e.g. by acting arrogant, vain, or revolting, allowing themselves to be ridiculed by other characters (and the audience) bringing them back to an acceptable level (Zillman & Stocking, 1976)

Social Network Management

Social Network Management ----- Impression Management: A process through which individuals try to control or influence others' perceptions or impressions toward them (Leary & Kowalski, 1990). ----- People generally manage their online impressions to appear in a positive light. Facebook users' status updates contained less negative emotion words than wall posts and private messages did (Bazarova et al., 2012). ----- Turkle (2011) suggested that social media can make us feel "alone together". Through social comparison, exposure to the happiness of others on social media may be depressing to users, which leads them to post fake happy messages, leading to a downward spiral comparison effect. Facebook News Feed Experiment ----- An experiment manipulated the extent to which Facebook users (N = 689,003) were exposed to emotional expressions in their News Feed, in order to determine whether exposure to emotional content led people to post content that was consistent with the exposure (Kramer, Guillory, & Hancock, 2014). ----- Results suggest that the emotions expressed by friends, via online social networks, influence our own moods. ----- Seeing positive content leads users to posting of more positive content, whereas negative content leads to more negativity.

Eras in Hollywood

Success of Television ----- after 1949 ----- effects on the film industry: ----- switch to color (technicolor) ----- widescreen (cinemascope) ----- stereo sound ----- experimenting with 3-D Era of Epics ----- 1955-1965 ----- Ten Commandments (1956) ----- Ben-Hur (1959) ----- Spartacus (1960) ----- Cleopatra (1963) Science Fiction (B-movies) ----- Double features (drive-in specials) ----- space travel/ atomic tests/ creature features ----- cold war paranoia Mid Sixties ----- sharp decline in box-office revenue ----- Hay's Production code was abandoned (1968) ----- MPAA age classification system introduced

Storytelling

Storytelling ----- creating a convincing narrative has long been recognised as an important prerequisite for movies, video games, or novels ----- great storytelling would require a number of parts, often referred to as acts ----- three acts are needed according to Greek philosophers like Aristotle (beginning, middle, and end) ----- Roman poet Horace claimed five acts were needed (prologue, rising action, climax, falling action, denouement). Calls on the talents and personality of the teller to bring the narrative to life. ----- narratology is the study of stories and story structure and the ways these stories affect our perception, cognition, and emotion Narrative Design ----- A plot is the cause-and-effect relationship between events in a story. 'The king died and then the queen died,' is a story. 'The king died, and then the queen died of grief,' is a plot (Forster, 1927). Entertaining plots need tension, uncertainty and motivation. ----- consider example of Jurassic Park Plot ----- Plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 and 700 words. Television episodes plot descriptions should be no more than 200 words ----- A screenplay, or script, describes the movement, actions, expressions and dialogues of the characters in a film or television program. The format is structured so that one page equals roughly one minute of screen time.

Structural Design Elements

Structural Design Elements in Video Games ----- RULES! ----- intransitive relations ----- Whenever a relation holds between one object and a second and also between that second and a third, the relation fails to hold between the first and the third Pokemon Example ----- Comes with an interaction key that determines exactly how each character interacts with others Transitivity can also be countered by asymmetrical balance ----- Asymmetrical balance and intransitivity allow for powerful game experiences because they provide multiple viable strategies (preferably supporting a variety of playstyles).

Feedback Loops

Structural Design Elements of Video Games: ----- feedback loops Feedback loops Positive feedback loop • Enlarges the difference between players (snowballing) • Makes it harder for loser to recover Negative feedback loop • Reduces the difference between players (catch-up, rubber banding) • Encourages loser recovery Dynamic feedback loop • Automatically adjusts the difficulty to the skills of the player

Complexity of Entertainment Model

The Complexity of the entertainment experience ----- Vorderer, Klimmt, & Ritterfeld (2004) ----- user prerequisites, motives, and media prerequisites determine enjoyment ----- the effects include excitation, catharsis, and learning ----- manifests as serenity, exhilaration, laughter ----- or suspense, thrill, relief, sadness, thoughtfulness, tenderness, sensory delight, achievement, control, self-efficacy

Entertainment Industry

The Entertainment Industry describes the mass media companies that control the distribution and production of mass media entertainment with the intention of profiting from creative products or services ----- The entertainment industry consists of a group of sub-industries devoted to entertainment (e.g., film industry, game industry, music industry). ----- The experiential nature of entertainment makes entertainment products relatively expensive to produce, but very cheap to reproduce. ----- The enormous amount of entertainment products being released is driven by the short life cycle of entertainment products and consumers' insatiable need for the continuous creation of new products (Handke, 2012) ----- The US entertainment industry represents a third of the global market with a revenue of 771 billion (larger than GDP of NL)

History of Video Games

The First Video Games ----- the first electronic game was made by William Higinbotham in 1958 ----- The first computer game (Steve Russel, 1962) ----- The first video game (Ralph Baer, 1972) Pong (1972) ----- Nolan Bushnell founded Atari in 1972 ----- playing against human components instead of computer-controlled opponents ----- leads to more enjoyment (Weibel, 2008) Then came the first Arcade Games ----- Space Invaders ----- Gun Fight ----- after 1977, began the death race ----- era of violent video games ----- in 1977, Atari release the video computer system (Atari 2600) ----- Custer's Revenge in 1982 caused people to raise concerns about violent video games Video Game Crash ----- 1982 ----- Atari almost went bankrupt, prevalent violence in games was introduced as a real issue and topic of concern First Study on Violent Video Games ----- (Graybill, Kirsch, & Esselman, 1985) ----- Experiment (N = 116 children) aimed at comparing aggressive responses after playing a 'violent' game (Atari Activision Boxing) or a non-violent game (Atari Basketball). ----- They found no significant differences on three measures of aggression.

Conglomerates and Independents

The entities providing media entertainment are divided into two main groups ----- "major" and "independent" ----- the majors (record labels, film studies, television networks) are owned by big media conglomerates Independent ----- indie, refers to the source of funding for its products ----- independent of the major studios/labels ----- can also refer to the character ----- it may be independent since it ignores commercial mainstream requirements and industry rules and expectations ----- although major labels, studios, and networks provide the minority of total releases, major products account for the majority of the revenue (Waldfogel, 2017)

Competition

The presence of highly similar alternatives (same genre and age rating) hurts a new movie's success (Elberse & Eliashberg, 2003). ----- People usually like experiences less as they repeat them: they satiate (Redden, 2008). ----- Repeated consumption of a particular product appears to reduce consumer interest not just for the product itself but also for other similar products (Barroso et al. 2016, p.576). Satiation ----- consider teen-focused dystopian future movies ROI ----- after 2014, it went down sharply Film Distribution - Seasonality ----- Brewer et al. 2009 analysed 466 films released in America between 1997 and 2001. They found that movies released in the summer and around Christmas had about 10% and 7% higher revenues. The Game of Chicken ----- Krider and Weinberg (1998) provide analytical evidence that if two similar movies are released simultaneously it is optimal for both movies if one of them delays its release, compared to both films being released in the same week. ----- If both movies are similar, with one being only slightly more marketable than the other, the (slightly) less marketable film should yield even though they suffer more by doing so. ----- It is still likely to occur because the weaker movie has more to lose than the stronger one. ----- The game-theoretic approach toward competitive timing suggests that those who set their release dates first have a competitive advantage over those who follow (Einav, 2010). ----- the question remains: to split or to steal?

Film Franchises

The term sequel describes an entertainment product that is a line extension which continues a previous product in the same family brand (Basuroy & Chatterjee, 2008). ----- The All-time World-wide Grosses are all rated PG-13 or PG at least ----- a lot of these are sequels as well ----- Remakes are a related, but distinct, kind of line extension. ----- The concept describes a new version, or re-representation of a previous entertainment product, again in the same product category (Horton and McDougal 1998) ----- Contrary to sequels the potential for remakes to offer new aspects to characters or narratives is systematically limited as they, by definition, tell an existing story again (Bohnenkamp et al. 2015). Sequels & Remakes ----- Analysis of film sequels released between 1991 and 1993 indicated that sequels not math the revenues of the parent film (Basuroy & Chatterjee, 2008) ----- Dhar et al. (2012) confirm this finding with a much larger data set of 2,000 movies that were widely released in North American theaters from 1983 and 2008. ----- However, sequels generate between 20% and 30% more revenue than non-sequels (Basuroy et al., 2006). ----- Similarly, in a joint analysis of box office reports from 14 countries, and average increase of 31% in the opening weekend revenue was found if a movie is a sequel (Akdeniz & Talay, 2013).

Dark Side of Entertainment

Thriller and horror movies are designed to frighten or terrify audiences often using violence. Horror typically involves more blood, guts and gore, and supernatural or unnatural elements ----- Sapolsky & Molitor, Sparks, Tamborini & Weaver ----- talks about the fine line between what you can show and what is truly frightening: our imagination Who loves horror? ----- meta-analysis of 35 articles on relevant traits for more enjoyment of fright ----- (Hoffner & Levine, 2005) ----- typically masculine ----- perpetuates strong boys and sensitive girls ----- Male gender (Cantor, 1994) ----- Adolescents (Twitchell, 1989) ----- lower empathy (Tamborini, 1987) ----- higher sensation seeking (Zuckerman, 1994) ----- also less likely to imagine themselves as personally vulnerable to threats in horror ----- more aggressiveness (Atkin, 1985) Selection of Horror ----- the audience for images of extreme violence, death, and dying do not share a single motive ----- some viewers seek excitement, others companionship or social acceptance through shared experience, and still others wish to see justice enacted (Goldstein, 1999) ----- Young males must prove to their peers, and ultimately to themselves, that they are unperturbed, calm, and collected in the face of terror ----- girls must show their sensitivity by being disturbed, dismayed, and disgusted (Zillman, 1998) ----- success measured in terms of return on investment ----- best makeup, sound and special effects ----- found footage films are very popular, e.g. The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity

Digital Music Distribution

Trends in the Digital Music Industry (2000-2011) ----- large increase in availability of songs ----- enormous decrease in the price of a single song (from 7$ to 0.99$) ----- 8m unique tracks released in 2011 ----- a lot of long-tail Niche content was released ----- the most popular forms of distribution became digital Digital Music Distribution ----- in 1996, brick and mortar music stores produce more than 50% of all revenue from music albums, in 2006 less than 30% ----- today less than 10% ----- In 2011, iTunes was the biggest music retailer (NPD, 2012). Charging $0.99 for most of the songs I their library. ----- For music sold via iTunes and other shops, the retailer keeps the "standard" 30%, but the producer share of 70% is split between the label and the songwriter(s). ----- The last decades, people have shifted away from physical sales (CDs) to digital downloads (iTunes), and in recent years recent onto streaming services. Streaming Music ----- Streaming currently generates more revenue than digital downloads. Spotify and Apple lead the way in online digital streaming. ----- In December 2015, Adele released her album 25 on CD and digital download, but not on streaming platforms (Sisario, 2015). ----- In 2018, Billboard updated its albums chart from being purely sales-based to a "multi-metric consumption" model. Adding audio streaming to its album-ranking metrics, including Spotify, Google Play, and YouTube. ----- Spotify now has 130 million paid subscribers and 280 million monthly active users. More than their competitors Pandora and Apple Music.

Fear

What do we fear? ----- Davis & Javor (2004) let 182 participants rate 40 horror films on three evolutionary-cognitive themes: films and antagonists that scored higher on these three themes performed better at the box office 1. Predation ----- fear of what can kill you ----- babies attention to predators, nor flowers or modern-day threats (Masataka et al. 2010) ----- " .... for when you gaze long into the abyss. The abyss also glazes into you." (Nietzsche, 1886) ----- when the babies saw a snake or spider, instead of a flower or fish, their purples enlarged ----- this shows they felt stress when looking at these 2. Contagion ----- fear of what can infect you ----- psychological immune system - we are more prone to racial prejudice when primed with reminders of infection (Boyer, 1994) 3. Violations of person category - fear of almost human monsters ----- horror-monsters thrive by being minimal violations of persons (vampires, ghosts, zombies). The Uncanny Valley (Mori, 1970). ----- He says that when a robot is too life like, the response is revulsion ----- when it is indistinguishable, the response again approaches empathy 4. Jump Scare ----- a technique intended to scare the audience by surprising them with an abrupt change in image or event, usually co-occuring with a frightening sound (Bishop, 2012)

Music Industry

When do we listen to Music? ----- People often choose music as an accompaniment to a range of daily activities (Bull, 2007; Sloboda & Juslin, 2010) ----- Among radio listeners, early morning hours (7am) on Monday - Friday are more attractive than weekends and evenings (e.g., Gattringer & Klingler, 2014). ----- North et al. (2004) found that a greater percentage of listening incidences occurred later in the evening and during the weekend. ----- Others also found that music was heard more often later in the day than in the mornings, and that most music was heard on TV (Krause et al., 2015). Why do we listen to Music? ----- People report listening to music for enjoyment, to pass the time, to create an atmosphere, and to help concentration (e.g., Greasley & Lamont, 2011). ----- Others have also identified functions of listening to music beyond enjoyment, such as social, cognitive, and emotional reasons (Hargreaves & North, 1999). ----- Studies have shown that (the perception of) control over music choice positively affects subjective health and well-being (e.g., Lee, Ford, & Gramotnev, 2009; Krause et al., 2015). ----- Music Disposition ----- it has been argued that self-selected music (MP3's) was conducive to experiencing positive emotions because it offered a greater sense of control over the situation (Liljeström et al., 2012). Cultural Studies on the Appeal of Music ----- Shared listening, exchanging songs, and talking about music create a sense of belonging, and connect a person's sense of self to a larger community and generation (van Dijck, 2006). ----- Music can evoke memories of youth and act as a reminder of earlier freedoms, attitudes, and social events, intensifying feelings of nostalgia or reminiscence Connell & Gibson, 2003). ----- Listening to radio broadcasts are indeterminate consumption experiences that unfold in ways that do not appear to be decided beforehand. ----- This makes them more exciting than equivalent determinate experiences (Vosgerau, Wertenbroch & Carmon, 2006).

Gamers and Motivation

Who is motivated to play games? ----- boys play more video games ----- could be due to evolutionary psychology ----- the games played by boys are of a more violent and consuming nature ----- skills and abilities ----- Numerous experiments have indicated that men are better at video games than women. Also at playing Pong. Even when they controlled for game experience and competitiveness (Brown et al., 1997). ----- socialisation theories (peers, gender, cultural) ----- identification ----- The influence of game characters on enjoyment is determined by identification with these characters (Klimmt, Hefner, Vorderer, Roth & Blake, 2010) ----- sexualisation in games ----- also most game designers are male Effects of Sexualisation ----- Identification with sexualized characters in video games can influence perceptions of real-world gender roles. ----- Participants who played with a sexualized Lara Croft for 30 minutes reported lower cognitive capabilities of women in general. (Behm-Morawitz & Mastro 2009). ----- 3-year longitudinal study in Germany (N = 824). Measures of sexism (traditional gender roles) was not related to time spent on (specific genres of) video games. Also no differences between men and women (Breuer, Kowert, Festl & Quandt, 2015)

Winners in Film

Winners Take All ----- Popularity biases consumers' perception of the product's quality. ----- Early 'winners' (even by an initial narrow margin) show huge revenue differences in the long run compared to second place (Salganik & Watts, 2008). ----- The influence of popularity on quality perceptions is not limited to selection choices, but even remains after we have experienced an entertainment product (Lynn et al., 2016). ----- Economists have compared such behavior to that of herds (herding), in which members instinctively follow the actions of other herd members without deeper reflection of the logic or wisdom underlying these actions (Bikhchandani et al., 1998). Managing Winners ----- For movies released in North American theaters between 2012 and 2014, the majority of advertising was spent prior to the films' release (Elberse & Anand 2017). ----- There is empirical evidence that film studios systematically provide inflated box office estimates for their movies. This overestimation is a fact-of-life in the film industry, and that it "is highly unlikely to be due to chance" (Malhotra & Helmer 2012, p. 1411). Marketing Buzz ----- Buzz describes the aggregation of observable expressions of anticipation by consumers for a forthcoming product (Houston, 2018) ----- Gopinath et al. (2013), in their investigation of 75 movies, report an effect of pre-release communication buzz (articulated on blogs) on a film's opening weekend. ----- Similarly, in an analysis of 40 movies, Liu (2006) found an even stronger effect of pre-release communication on Yahoo Movies on a film's revenue. ----- The challenge is to generate buzz that is so strong that it ensures that a new entertainment product becomes sufficiently successful, even when it turns out that people don't like it very much.

Themes in Horror

Zombies ----- Origin: voodoo ----- White Zombie (1932) ----- King of the Zombies (1941) ----- I walked with a Zombie (1943) Apocalyptic Zombies ----- night of the living dead (George Romero, 1968) ----- Zombies are contagious, canibalistic ghouls ----- MPAA - Age Ratings Apocalyptic Appeal ----- annihilation anxiety: a preoccupation with survival and preservation of the self ----- it is the fear of the end - not just a fear of death but the annihilation of society, our collective past, and future (Hurvich, 1989) ----- emotional inoculation: a tiny "dose" of fear we give ourselves in order to deal with the larger fear of being wiped out completely ----- the popularity of zombie movies is symbolic of the lack of public trust that exists for institutions, since Zombie outbreaks are usually the fault of some government malfeasance (Wonser, 2016) ----- horror film enemies that are unequivocally evil are generally fun to see destroyed because their is no moral shade of grey (Barret, 2000).

The Music Industry

a collective term that designates a system of productive labor; a trade or manufacturing, distribution and commodification applied to musical sounds. The music industry consists of the companies and individuals that earn money by creating (singers, musicians, bands, composers) and selling (producers, publishers, record labels, promotors) pieces of music (e.g., songs, concerts, video clips, compositions). ----- The music industry started to emerge in the 1930s when records replaced sheet music as the most important product in the music business and the "recording industry" became commercially successful. ----- In the first decades of the 2000s, the music industry underwent drastic changes with the advent of widespread digital distribution of music via the internet (both illegal and online music stores). ----- Since then, physical sales have dropped and online sales have gone up. Three Major Corporate Labels ----- Universal Music Group: Taylor Swift, Jay-Z ----- Sony Music: Beyonce, Michael Jackson ----- Warner Music Group: Ed Sheeran Major Labels ----- Conglomerates with subsidiaries ----- Many artists available to promote ----- If an artist does not meet expectations, (within a year) promote the next one ----- Invest in tested formulas and certainties ----- Required for global success Independent Labels ----- Mostly (former) independents producers ----- Success depends on a few artists ----- Long-term investments in artists ----- Slower revenue ----- New formats and concepts

Mood Management Theory

a predominant motivation for using entertainment media is to moderate or control moods Mood management theory describes that the use of entertainment serves the regulation of positive mood states (Zillmann, 1984). ----- Based on the hedonistic premise that individuals are motivated to experience pleasure and avoid pain, individuals tend to select entertainment in order to maximize or maintain a good mood, and/or diminish or alleviate a bad mood. ----- Empirical evidence for mood management exists for TV viewing patterns (e.g., Lee & Lee, 1995) and for movie preferences (Hirschman 1987)

Leitmotif in Music

a recurrent theme throughout a musical or literary composition, associated with a particular person, idea, or situation. ----- A recurring element in film editing (often sound editing) that is associated with a person, location or idea (Pudovkin, ~1925) Universal Responses to Music ----- Method: 40 Pygmies (Congo - without electricity and no access to Western media like radio and TV) and 40 Canadians listened in pairs to 19 pieces of music of approximately 1 minute in duration in random order (Egermann, Fernando, Chuen, & McAdams, 2015) ----- Western music excepts (high arousing and low arousing), created similar responses in both participant groups (with high arousal associated with increases in subjective and physiological activation). ----- Acoustical features of the music (tempo, pitch, and timbre) affected subjective and physiological arousal similarly in both cultures. Music & Excitement ----- Music can be used effectively in exercise- and sport-related tasks (e.g.,Terry et al., 2012) to distract from fatigue-related symptoms, elicit more positive affective responses, and increase arousal (Bigliassi et al.,2017; Hutchinson et al., 2018). ----- Music is considered a sensory distraction with the potential to increase adherence to physical activity and counteract the detrimental effects of sedentariness (Clarket al., 2016). ----- Brain activity measurements of participants who listened to music in an fMRI showed upregulated affective arousal to a significantly greater degree than the no-music control condition (Bigliassi et al., 2018).

Screwball Comedy

a type of highly-verbal comedy prevalent in 1930's Hollywood, and typified by frenetic action, verbal wit and wisecracks (substituting or serving as a metaphoric euphemism for sex), a battle of the sexes with conflict that is ultimately resolved - all elements that serve as important plot points. ----- screwball or romantic comedy ----- after 1927 - sound in movies makes verbal jokes possible ----- screwball: romantic comedy based on misconceptions ----- usually with stubborn, independent women who can match the male actor with witty banter, sometimes even dominating him ----- shrew dialogues, "repartee", tit for tat

Appreciation for Drama

eudaemonia: greater insight, self reflection, or contemplations of poignancy or meaningfulness (e.g., what makes life valuable) (Oliver, 2008) ----- striving for a meaningful life and a healthy soul Seeing the misery of others (downward social comparison) we realise how good our lives are, leads to appreciation for dramatic entertainment ----- viewers of sad movies may also seek information that can help the mournful viewer "work-through" his or her negative state (Zillman, 2000) Catharsis ----- relates to cleaning ----- the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental purification and purgation experienced by spectators through the experience of pity (oleos) and fear (phobos) for what the characters (in a play or film) experience ----- no empirical evidence for catharsis through drama Feeling Low on Fictions Leads to Feeling High on Life (Knobloch-Westerwick et al. 2013) ----- study with 361 students, mostly females ----- watched Atonement (2007) ----- afterwards: reflection ----- a sad movie can break our routine, making us realise that things could be worse, and have us count our blessings 13 Reasons Why ----- Hannah Baker kills herself, this is shown in great graphic detail ----- controversy: detailed guide which glorifies suicide as a successful method of revenge ----- 13 reasons why became most tweeted show of the year, 11 million tweets ----- whether you watch it or not, it brought suicide on the public agenda Impact ----- Hong (2018) examined the perceived impact for 87 youths who came into the psych. emergency department with suicidal thoughts in the year after the series premiere ----- half of the sample had viewed 13 Reasons Why (most watched it alone) ----- over half believe the show increased their suicidal risk, and identifying with Hannah was related to this belief ----- these findings suggest a vulnerability to the show's themes among youths at risk of suicide

Cultural Studies

in media research, the approaches that try to understand how the media and culture are tied to the actual patterns of communication used in daily life; these studies focus on how people make meanings, apprehend reality, and order experience through the use of stories and symbols ----- entertainment research Objectivity does not exist, nothing is universally valid ----- science is not - and should never be - free of values ----- Acknowledge subjectivity of the researcher: Examine entertainment from a certain perspective (discourse). ----- Normative approach: how it should be. ----- Cultural texts have preferred meanings that are difficult for the public to resist (Tobin, 2005). ----- Counter-discourse is the way for researchers to counter the ideas that dominate entertainment media. ----- Cultural studies approach emphasizes perspectives and interests of certain oppressed or marginalized groups (minorities, women, LGBTQ+). ----- Mostly concerned with content of media and representation of different groups in entertainment. Media Psychology ----- Quantitative research methods and analyses Stemming from clinical and behavioral psychology ----- Media effects are conditional (depending on the characteristics of the message) and selective (depending on the user and his environment) ----- Quantitative research to analyze large groups (surveys) and statistical analyzes to determine differences between subgroups (experiments). ----- Representative of society, but may miss nuance or reflection Versus Cultural Studies ----- Qualitative methods and theories• Stemming from literary studies, anthropology, philosophy ----- Ideological content and resulting effects of media are determined by social circumstances and individual interpretations ----- Small-scale qualitative research methods (interviews, ethnographic analysis, or discourse analysis) that do not yield representative results ----- Research can offer valuable insights into smaller or hard-to-reach groups in society

Online Entertainment

includes music, television, movies and games accessed online via streaming media, subscription services, or as downloads. Netflix Case Study ----- television without channels ----- Cord-cutting refers to the cancellation of multichannel television subscription services by television viewers. ----- 66% of U.S. households still have traditional TV subscriptions, compared to 77% in 2017 (PwC, 2019). ----- The main factor driving away cable TV viewers is the price: The average TV bill in 2018 totaled $156.71 per month. ----- Netflix usage (76% of American households) has surpassed combined cable and satellite TV subscriptions Netflix short history ----- Netflix was launched in April 1998 as the world's first online DVD rental store ----- Blockbuster was offered to take over Netflix for $50 million in 2000 ----- In 2007 they had delivered 1 billion DVDs (postal services) ----- That same year started subscription service for streaming movies ----- Blockbuster went bankrupt in 2010 (Netflix controlled online video supply) ----- Algorithms maintain viewership and database ----- First Netflix original series: House of Cards (2013) ----- More than 182 million subscribers worldwide Supply, Demand, and Convenience ----- Piracy is almost always a service problem and not a pricing problem (Newell, 2011). ----- Netflix has been monitoring illegal downloads on sites like BitTorrent to learn about popular trends (tickld, 2016). Netflix Acquisitions ----- Netflix almost always pays a fixed fee for regional rights to stream a movie or series for a limited time (Tostado, 2013). ----- Netflix spent an estimated $3.3 billion in 2015 on content licensing and acquisition (Hagey & Ramachandran, 2015) ----- In September 2015, Netflix decided to cancel the listing of 128 movies from Paramount, Lionsgate, and MGM. ----- They were picked up by their much less popular competitor Hulu that same month. ----- Between October 2015 and January 2016, DVD sales for these 126 movies increased by 25% on average (Yu et al., 2017). Netflix Content Acquisition Strategy ----- "Not a single person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what's going to work" (Goldman, 1983) ----- Netflix applies insights from data analytics to select movies and series that they want to add to their library. ----- Netflix cannot guarantee that a single product will become a hit. Data analytics is all about probability (contingencies), not determination. ----- Contingencies describe the conditions under which certain decisions have been successful. It provides a perspective that supports decisions with a higher probability that these products will be successful.

Marketing

the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large Entertainment Brands ----- Marketability of media entertainment is not determined by experiential product quality. ----- marketability is driven by the information about a product that is available to consumers when selecting the entertainment product. ----- Because the success of all entertainment products is closely tied to consumers familiarity and identification with those products, it is always better to market products within entertainment brands. ----- When releasing a new entertainment product, a decision regarding its brand integration must be made: Either build a new stand-alone brand or extend an existing one (Sattler & Völckner, 2013) Brand Strategies ----- Family branding may refer to a group of different products belonging to a single brand that are marketed under their parent brand. ----- The parent brand is also referred to as an umbrella brand. ----- When the target category is the same as the category for which the parent brand is best known (as is the case with sequels and remakes), the new product is a brand extension. ----- An entertainment franchise is a collection of related media in which several works have been derived from an original creative work, such as a film, a work of literature, a television program, a comic or a video game Beyond Entertainment Brands ----- Transmedia Storytelling ----- Elements of a fiction get dispersed systematically across multiple delivery channels for the purpose of creating a unified entertainment experience (Jenkins, 2011). AKA: Cross-Media Fertilization (Militz, 1998)

Distribution Channels

the path through which products or services get to customers ----- Traditionally, media entertainment was commercially available in a single format only: films in theaters, music on vinyl records, shows on television, and games on machines in mall arcades or bars. ----- Technological developments, and particularly the recent advances in the digital connectivity, have made alternative formats possible for all types of content. ----- Many entertainment products are rolled out sequentially across distribution channels - an approach known as 'windowing' in the entertainment industry. ----- Sequential distribution is a marketing strategy that is designed to maximize profit by making a product available to consumers in different formats in succession (Hennig- Thurau et al., 2007)